Ventizz to acquire Hasselblad

[BJNY]

My friend C.D. alerted me to:

http://www.ventizz.de/en/pm110630.php

[jing q]

Those Ferrari limited edition hassles must have impressed them.

Sounds like a good thing, hopefully more capital for r&d?

[JV]

Wait and see.  I sounds pretty positive though:

"...the private equity firm is planning to invest in an "appropriate growth strategy," with the goal of developing new market segments and "Hasselblad cameras that appeal to a wider group of ambitious photographers.""

[design_freak]

And soon we will be able to go on holiday with compact Hasselblad camera

But seriously - Rangefinder Digital Camera would be welcome

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

A digital version of the Mamiya Universal with exchangeable back for film or digital and electronic viewfinder.
The medium format hybrid EVIL camera ...
A dream ...

[feppe]

From the release:

As a strong financial partner, Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. will support Hasselblad and its management team in entering new market segments as well as in the further technological development of existing product lines.

[emphasis mine]

Mirrorless Hasselblad camera? Hassy compact? Shoes?

edit: argh too slow

[Graham Mitchell]

It doesn't always work out for the best when bean-counters start running the show. Let's wait and see.

[uaiomex]

Let's hope for the best. After all, Ventizz logo resembles an in-lens leaf shutter device.    
The negligence showed during Shiro's ownership to the V system was incomprehensible. Herr Kaufman is way more intelligent than the whole board of directors at Shiro.
Eduardo

It doesn't always work out for the best when bean-counters start running the show. Let's wait and see.

[jimk]

Wait and see.  I sounds pretty positive though:

"...the private equity firm is planning to invest in an "appropriate growth strategy," with the goal of developing new market segments and "Hasselblad cameras that appeal to a wider group of ambitious photographers.""

i wonder if that means hasselblads in red and many other colors

[EricWHiss]

I looked at this news a different way. That any group of VC's would consider buying a company whose main product line deals with medium format photography must mean someone thinks this market is not dying out. 

[JV]

I looked at this news a different way. That any group of VC's would consider buying a company whose main product line deals with medium format photography must mean someone thinks this market is not dying out. 

I would agree.  Together with the fact that Leica and Pentax recently entered that same market. 

Hopefully long term this also makes prices come down to a realistic level...

[Schewe]

Interesting that Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. was funded with EUR 450m and has invested in 39 companies...one wonders what % of that fund was payed to Shriro Group...which we prolly won't know because the cost of the transaction is undisclosed. I

[design_freak]

I see it another way:
Speculative money circulates through the world, looking for opportunities for rapid earnings 

[TH_Alpa]

It couldn't be said wiser. We all wish that not again a MF player stumbles. Remember the names Carnival, Jenoptik, Chaoyi/China, MegaVision, Imacon, Dicomed? Just to speak about back manufacturers having disappeared within the last decade, and another having almost disappeared from the back business. Not to mention all the companies manufacturing for the professional photo business. All together there must be between 1/3 and 1/2 of the whole photo businesses gone. Economical forecasts are difficult, even more in troubled financial times. So the best is what Graham says: wait and see.

Thierry

It doesn't always work out for the best when bean-counters start running the show. Let's wait and see.

[bradleygibson]

Maybe an H in black? 

[tom b]

Maybe a digital XPan?

Cheers,

[EricWHiss]

Maybe an H in black?  

  Wow who would have thought a buy out would be needed to come up with this 'novel' idea?     But you got to admit the stainless and red were pretty. But they needed to make the lenses to match...

[design_freak]

Interesting that Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. was funded with EUR 450m and has invested in 39 companies...one wonders what % of that fund was payed to Shriro Group...which we prolly won't know because the cost of the transaction is undisclosed. I

I do not think that they gave too much money for this company. They must invest a lot more to expand it, get a reasonable return, and sell with large profit, or enter the stock market. They do not do this with a good heart. What matters is cash. Profits can be huge. So they earn.

A few links that will give you the answer how to do it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_bubble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity_firm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity

[jeremypayne]

Interesting that Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. was funded with EUR 450m and has invested in 39 companies...one wonders what % of that fund was payed to Shriro Group...which we prolly won't know because the cost of the transaction is undisclosed. I

This type of investor buys companies on a leveraged basis ... ie with borrowed money - from banks, mainly - supplementing the equity investment from the fund.

Whatever the total price, at least 50-75% of the money will come from banks.

It is exactly like buying a house ... you put 10-20% down and borrow the rest from a bank ... these guys do the same thing with companies.

[design_freak]

Big money is not our world. Let's stay at the photographs.
 Let's wait and see what the future holds for us. Let's hope that a lot of interesting products rise.