• World
  • Columnist
  • Commodities
  • WORLD BUSINESS & ECONOMY
  • Executive Knowledge Series
  • Finance
  • Manufacturing
  • Markets
  • Risk & Governance
  • Small Business
  • Technology, Media & Innovation
  • Comments
  • Business AM WebTV
  • Login

Businessamlive
  • FRONTPAGE
  • FINANCE
    • AllAsset ManagementAuditBankingBondBudgetCapital MarketsC&I LeasingCurrencyDealDebt marketForexFund RaisingFundingGovernmentHedge FundsInsuranceInvestmentInvestorInvestor ServicesMergers & AcquistionsMoney marketTreasury BillsMortgagePensionsPersonal financePonziQuantitative EasingshareTaxationTSAWealth Management
      Finance

      Nigeria, Africa remittances on target as Wari, Lycaremit sign partnership

      January 21, 2021

      Companies

      Total Nigeria, Mixta, Valency, list new CPs on FMDQ platform to enhance financial markets development

      January 19, 2021

      Finance

      Amidst N32.22trn public debt, analysts say Nigeria’s external debt service manageable

      January 19, 2021

      Finance

      Stringent regulations, business environment forced Stanbic IBTC out of BDC business

      January 15, 2021

  • MARKETS
  • ECONOMY
    • AllAfricaAgricAirportsAmericaAsiaAustraliaBreakthroughDealEuropeForeign InvestmentsforexGlobal marketGovernanceIMFMiddle EastNECANigeriaOutlookRich listSouth AfricaSport BusinessTradeU.KWest AfricaWorld Economic forum
      Markets

      Nairobi Stock Exchange pushes expansion plans with more listings in 2021, says CEO

      January 23, 2021

      Africa Investment Forum

      Africa’s $60bn losses in illicit capital flows due to multinationals’ tax avoidance, says AfDB Adesina

      January 22, 2021

      Frontpage

      Covid-19 vaccine: Nigeria, 54 others to benefit from African Union’s 270m doses

      January 21, 2021

      Finance

      Nigeria, Africa remittances on target as Wari, Lycaremit sign partnership

      January 21, 2021

  • COMMODITIES
  • ENERGY
    • AllConferenceElectricityOil and GasPowerRenewable
      Companies

      Appeal Court suspends order against shutting of SEPLAT headoffice

      January 23, 2021

      Frontpage

      OPEC welcomes push for electric vehicles, but says fossil fuel remains strong

      January 21, 2021

      National: Governance, Policy & Politics

      Nigeria ramps up domestic LPG consumption above 1MMT, says PPPRA

      January 20, 2021

      Companies

      TIPP Oil, German lubricant maker, targets 2021 Nigeria launch with eco-friendly scheme  

      January 19, 2021

  • TECHNOLOGY
  • MANUFACTURING
  • ANALYSIS
    • Analyst Insight

      CBN meeting and NSE in focus

      January 18, 2021

      Analyst Insight

      Once again, fiscal stimulus takes centre stage

      January 18, 2021

      Analyst Insight

      Organisations must learn from the WhatsApp story  

      January 18, 2021

      Analyst Insight

      Data privacy maturity model in organisations

      January 11, 2021

Mergers & Acquistions

Blackstone in talks to sell stake in camera maker Leica

August 2, 20172.4K views0 comments

Buyout group Blackstone is in talks with potential buyers for its 45 percent stake in iconic high-end camera and sport optics maker Leica, people close to the matter said.

The investor has teamed up with an investment bank to work out strategic options for the company and has already held talks with several potential acquirers, the people said, adding no official auction process was underway.

Blackstone declined to comment.

Any potential buyer will have to come to terms with Austria’s Kaufmann family, whose vehicle ACM owns a 55 percent stake in Leica, having brought in Blackstone as a co-investor in 2011.

Read Also:

  • TIPP Oil, German lubricant maker, targets 2021 Nigeria launch with…

“ACM has long-term goals with Leica Camera,” Leica Chairman and ACM managing director Andreas Kaufmann told Reuters, adding that his family’s definition of long-term was that of a 100-year horizon.

Leica, one of the world’s oldest photography brands, traces its roots back to a German microscope producer founded in 1849, and launched its first 35 mm compact camera in 1924.

The rise of competitors after the World War Two, especially in Japan, saw Leica transform into a niche upmarket brand.

In 1996, Leica Camera separated from the microscope and measuring devices businesses and listed on the stock exchange, before luxury goods maker Hermes invested in it in 2000, later selling its stake to the Kaufmann family, which by end-2007 held 97 percent of the company.

Leica is expected to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of roughly 70 million euros this year and may have a valuation of around 700 million euros ($828 million) in a potential deal, people close to the matter said.

While mass market camera makers such as Canon and Nikon trade at 7 to 9 times their expected core earnings, Blackstone hopes to reap a premium to that for Leica, whose cameras are seen as luxury goods.

Sport optics peers include Germany’s Zeiss and Austria’s Swarovski Optik.

Zeiss is potentially interested in Leica Camera, but would only agree to a deal if it was able to secure a majority stake, the sources said.

Potential buyers include other family investors, they said, adding that Asian optics groups and private equity funds had also shown interest.

Last year, Chinese investor CDH expressed interest in buying Blackstone’s stake in Leica, but no deal materialized, one of the people said.

China’s Huawei, founded by a former Chinese army engineer, has licensed Leica camera technology for use in some of its smartphones.

Huawei is the world’s third largest smartphone maker.

Providing cameras for other uses from smartphones to cars has emerged as a second pillar of suppliers, while pocket cameras sales have come under pressure from the rise of smartphones. Expensive lifestyle cameras have so far bucked that trend.

Huawei was, however, unlikely to show interest in buying Blackstone’s stake, one of the people said.

Zeiss and Huawei declined to comment, while CDH was not immediately available for comment.

Share on Facebook Tweet Email
TagsBlackstone
PreviousWestern firms tap Russian frontier oil as sanctions gap creates access
NextWinners emerge in Union Bank’s Centenary Innovation Challenge

Leave a comment

- Cancel reply

MARKET DATA

Market Videos

Recent Posts

  • Appeal Court suspends order against shutting of SEPLAT headoffice
  • Eko Atlantic City to utilise local content for economic diversification in Nigeria
  • Nairobi Stock Exchange pushes expansion plans with more listings in 2021, says CEO
  • Africa’s $60bn losses in illicit capital flows due to multinationals’ tax avoidance, says AfDB Adesina
  • Nigeria equities go bearish on selloffs in DangCem, AXA Mansard, UBA

World

Africa

Buhari, Okonjo-Iweala congratulate Adesina over reelection as AfDB President

Europe

EU businesses to cut investments in 2020, says EIB report

America

U.S. increases cost of visa application for Nigerians

Africa

Thatcher-Loving Nigeria Candidate Plans to Overhaul Economy

Africa

AfDB scales up industrialization pace on the continent, delivers improved business access to finance, skills, energy

Frontpage posts

0

Rates crash further as banks race to beat 65% LDR deadline

Frontpage December 19, 2019

1
2

Oil, shares fall on potential limit on China investments

Frontpage September 27, 2019

3

Buhari orders accountant general, MDAs to publish daily financial transactions

Frontpage December 9, 2019

4

IMF’s Lagarde proposes ‘rainy day fund’ for euro zone against future economic downturns

Frontpage March 26, 2018

5

CBN unfolds procedures for disbursement of N75bn Youth Initiative Fund

Finance October 29, 2020

SUPPORT

  • Photo Gallery
  • Help Centre
  • About Us
  • Accessibility

LEGAL & PRIVACY

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Copyright

SERVICES

  • Conferences & Events
  • Analysts Research
  • Advertising Rate
  • Ebooks

TOOLS

  • Portfolio
  • Newsletters
  • News feed
  • Currency Converter

SUBSCRIBE

Join us to get latest updates on business related news.

[mc4wp_form id="3076"]
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright 2017. All rights reserved. BusinessAMLive. A Businessnewscorp Member Company.