Olympus Corporation, Sony Say Medical Business Merger Delayed
Japan's Olympus Corp (7733.T) and Sony Corp (6758.T) said on Friday that a planned merger of the two firms' medical business will take longer than expected due to delays in obtaining regulatory approval abroad. Shares in Olympus fell 1.8 percent on the news after it traded in positive territory, against a 0.3 percent decline on Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei .N225. Sony shares were off 0.1 percent. Sony spokeswoman Saori Takahashi said the companies are working to establish the venture by April 2013, but did not specify the countries where the firms were facing delays in regulatory approvalSony said in September that it would pay 50 billion yen ($590 million) to become the biggest shareholder in Olympus and planned to establish a company by the end of the year with the cash-strapped camera and endoscope maker to develop medical equipment.