Hasselblad Acquired By DJI

[Kevin Raber]

A lot of talk about Hasselblad has been going on around all the forums lately.  I have posted an article that may explain things.  Take a look.  Hasselblad Acquired By DJI.  https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/

[JJon]

As someone who just purchased an H4 I wonder what this means for me.

[BernardLanguillier]

Hi Kevin,

With all due respect, I am a bit surprised to see you leak such information ahead of an official announcement from Hasselblad.

I am also a bit surprised to see you spread concern about the future of the current product lines.

In all likelihood, a company like DJI is investing into what Hasselblad is, thanks to the great product line up they are in the process of putting on the market (H6D-50c and H6D-100c now available and X1D becoming available). It would be extremely unlikely to see them kill those at this point in time. This would kill the value of what they, according to you, just purchased.

Similarly, why on earth would they want to fire people recently hired to build a new team that is most probably essential to the success of the Hasselblad products?

The fact that DJI is a Chinese company doesn't change anything. They have proven their ability to design, produce and sell great products. You don't achieve this without a proper managment culture.

Again, surprised to see you write such things.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Doug Peterson]

Best wishes to the new owners!

Corporate History as far as I can reconstruct. Any corrections are welcome:
1976 - Sold to Säfveån
1984 - Victor Hasselblad AB (VHAB) goes public
1985 - Hasselblad Electronic Imaging AB formed (subsidiary of VHAB)
1991 - Sold to Incentive AB (becoming privately held)
1996 - Sold to UBS Capital
2004 - Sold to Shriro
2005 - Imacon Deal
2005 - New CEO (Poulsen, Imacon background)
2009 - New CEO (Hansen, Zeiss background)
2011 - Sold to Ventizz Capital
2013 - New CEO (Ian Rawcliffe)
2015 - New CEO (Perry Oosting, Luxury background)
2016 - Sold to DJI

[BernardLanguillier]

Best wishes to the new owners!

Corporate History as far as I can reconstruct. Any corrections are welcome:
1976 - Sold to Säfveån
1984 - Victor Hasselblad AB (VHAB) goes public
1985 - Hasselblad Electronic Imaging AB formed (subsidiary of VHAB)
1991 - Sold to Incentive AB (becoming privately held)
1996 - Sold to UBS Capital
2004 - Sold to Shriro
2005 - Imacon Deal
2005 - New CEO (Poulsen, Imacon background)
2009 - New CEO (Hansen, Zeiss background)
2011 - Sold to Ventizz Capital
2013 - New CEO (Ian Rawcliffe)
2015 - New CEO (Perry Oosting, Luxury background)
2016 - Sold to DJI

Doug,

With your well documented P1 bias, how do you expect this post to be interpreted?

Cheers,
Bernard

[Doug Peterson]

With your well documented P1 bias, how do you expect this post to be interpreted?

No need to document my bias; I openly acknowledge it. That I work for a Phase One dealer is in my signature of every post.

I just listed facts I think are relevant to the article. I purposefully left out any interpretation whatsoever, except well wishes to the new owners.

[BernardLanguillier]

I just listed facts I think are relevant to the article. I purposefully left out any interpretation whatsoever, except well wishes to the new owners.

Yes, sure... you are kindly reminding us about these facts.

I will tell you how I interpret your post and I believe I will not be alone in reading it this way.

- P1 is increasingly worried by the success of Hasselblad, both X1D and H6D,
- P1 see with this rumored take over an opportunity to spead FUD about Hasselblad in an attempt to slow down some sales,

I personnally don't find this very elegant. The quote about Perry coming from a luxury background is probably the worst part. You can do better than this.

Cheers,
Bernard

[hubell]

A lot of talk about Hasselblad has been going on around all the forums lately.  I have posted an article that may explain things.  Take a look.  Hasselblad Acquired By DJI.  https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/

Very surprising take from LuLa. A total hatchet job; totally unjustified. This is 2017; changes of control of companies are commonplace. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. Yet, you have essentially proclimed that the sky is falling anda horrible tragedy has befallen Hasselblad and its customers. The notion that a strategic acquiror like DJI is BAD for Hasselblad and its future just because DJI is a Chinese company is ridiculous. There is a very significant likelihood that this is a positive move for Hasseelbad and its customers, not a negative move. After all, it was under the existing European ownership and former European CEO that Hasselblad made the worst moves in its history...the Stellar, the Lunar, etc. Whoever is acquiring Hasselblad today is buying into it based upon the products that have just been put into the pipeline, the H6D and the X1D, and other products that have not even been announced. The existing PE owner wanted out, and was probably unwilling to double down and pony up more capital to build out the manufacturing capacity and future R&D. DJI as a strategic acquiror will not be in this for a quick buck. I have no reason to doubt that DJI has very deep pockets and will be committed to the future of Hasselblad. If you have hard information to the contrary, let's hear it.

[hubell]

No need to document my bias; I openly acknowledge it. That I work for a Phase One dealer is in my signature of every post.

I just listed facts I think are relevant to the article. I purposefully left out any interpretation whatsoever, except well wishes to the new owners.

Doug, your response here reflects poorly on you and Digital Transitions. I can understand the resentment that Hasselblad and Fuji are coming out with cameras incorporating exactly the same sensor that Phase has incorporated into its camera system with the form factor of a boat anchor and for which it charges 3-4X as much. However, your anger is misplaced. It should be directed at Phase, which has been caught with its pants down.

[Doug Peterson]

Good heavens guys. You seem to be reading something extremely negative into the history I posted. Maybe I should have done more editorial comment.

The thread was about company history and corporate ownership. If anything my timeline shows that Hassy will be just fine; they've changed hands many times over the years. The quality of the CEO is more important in general and the current one is the best they've had in a long time.

[Doug Peterson]

Honestly this reminds me why I don't post here as much anymore, and why few, if any manufacturers or reps post here anymore.

I think I'll take a few months off. If anyone needs me they can call or email.

[Manoli]

Kevin – the only factual comment I can glean from your piece is that DJI have made a second strategic investment in Hasselblad and are now the majority shareholder. What we (and presumably you) don't know is the price of the acquisition and how it relates to DJI's initial investment.

Unless you can clearly show that Hasselblad were on the verge of bankruptcy, as Phase One were in 2014, I suggest you rephrase your piece. The company's liquidity ratio is all you need to know - it'll be in the balance sheet.

Doug – you may be many things , but factual ain't one of them. Having regaled us with tales of PhaseOne's increased sales and increased profits – can you please explain why the latest Phase One published accounts show the lowest yearly Net Profit since 2010 ? ( see Arets Resultat in the attached screenshot, below).

Oh, and Happy New Year, guys!

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I see it from the bright side of life.

Perry Oosting had previously said that DJI was a minority investor but an important one. The reason they invest in Hasselblad are probably twofold:

• They need MFD cameras for their products.  (Not that I understand why?)
• They think it will be a profitable business.

I don't think it is a great secret that Hasselblad was into troubles a quiet long time. I guess that having a leading high tech company as an owner is not the worst thing that can happen to a company.

It could also be that the owner of DJI is interested in photography and wants to set a footstamp in photo history. That was how Contax was born. The owner of Kyocera wanted to make cameras, so they acquired Yashica and the Contax name.

My understanding is that both Hasselblad and Phase One are owned by venture capital companies Ventizz for the former and Silverfleet for the latter.

Kevin is comparing Hasselblad with Volvo, that is an interesting comparison. At the time Volvo Cars was sold to Ford they were doing extremely well. But they were regarded to be a company to small for all the R&D efforts needed. So the original Volvo focused on making lorries.

During the Automotive industry crisis Ford sold Volvo to Geely. Under the ownership of Geely Volvo Cars doubled production and now builds cars in two factories in China in addition to the factories in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Gent (Belgium).

2015 was the best year in Volvo's history.

Volvo Trucks is also doing well. They are second largest makers of trucks in the world.

Best regards
Erik

A lot of talk about Hasselblad has been going on around all the forums lately.  I have posted an article that may explain things.  Take a look.  Hasselblad Acquired By DJI.  https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/

[Wayne Fox]

Seems to me this is pretty newsworthy, not sure why anyone would expect Kevin to sit on it.

Of course, lots of speculation about what it means, anything from the best thing that's happened to hasselblad in years to one more nail in the coffin.

I'm puzzled as to DJI's interest as well, I certainly see a little synergy, but I can't imagine they didn't have a specific need/goal that would benefit their core business model (maybe they're trying to develop or improve high end mapping drones).  That isn't necessarily a negative, just curious as to where and what products/markets they feel are synergistic.

What comes to my mind is after seeing what is reported as a runaway hit with preorders exploding past any thing they envisioned, the current investors didn't feel it was enough to turn things around.  i can't imagine they are going to recoup much of their investment from DJI, the company needs money, any investors willing to infuse that money usually just dilutes other investors. I hope it's not because the business plan/model of the new camera is coming in so far over budget it won't help in the long run.  I would speculate the camera was announced early to try and convince investors things could be turned around, which apparently didn't work.

Perhaps DJI sees a great product and feel they can help bygetting things manufactured faster and more reasonable which could be a big win.  Certainly no reason the quality has to suffer if the end product is controlled by the parent company ... Apple (and I'm sure several other companies) design a lot of nice products which are incredibly well made in China.

[Tony Jay]

I think there is going to be a lot of shaking and moving happening this year.
Hasselblad will only be the first of many interesting stories that will come out of the industry as the year progresses.

Tony Jay

[BernardLanguillier]

I think there is going to be a lot of shaking and moving happening this year.
Hasselblad will only be the first of many interesting stories that will come out of the industry as the year progresses.

What else do you have in mind if I may ask?

Cheers,
Bernard

[jduncan]

Hi Kevin,

With all due respect, I am a bit surprised to see you leak such information ahead of an official announcement from Hasselblad.

I am also a bit surprised to see you spread concern about the future of the current product lines.

In all likelihood, a company like DJI is investing into what Hasselblad is, thanks to the great product line up they are in the process of putting on the market (H6D-50c and H6D-100c now available and X1D becoming available). It would be extremely unlikely to see them kill those at this point in time. This would kill the value of what they, according to you, just purchased.

Similarly, why on earth would they want to fire people recently hired to build a new team that is most probably essential to the success of the Hasselblad products?

The fact that DJI is a Chinese company doesn't change anything. They have proven their ability to design, produce and sell great products. You don't achieve this without a proper managment culture.

Again, surprised to see you write such things.


Cheers,
Bernard

We are not sure that DJI bought  Hasselblad. Being a majority investor can mean many things including owning 51% of the company Stock. I will love a full buy because DJI is the new Apple: They are way ahead of anyone else, out-innovating everyone else, and out engineering and marketing everyone else in the Drone Market. They are winning all over the place. Besides, the speculation that people are leaving Hasselblad,  this should have been a super positive article. The fact that the article goes into the desition to close the platform (they were subsidizing PhaseOne) show the mindset it was writing on. It reads like FUD. Now it could be that the writer has insider information that is not in the article, but right now it does not look good, even more so with the timing (X1D is reaching customers).  I believe this article is likely to hurt the X1D sales in a significant way. 

[David Mantripp]

Not that I have any stake in all of this, but there are so many factual errors in that article, which, given its nature, needs to be absolutely watertight, that it seriously damages the credibility of this site, and of its current editor.

Just one example - how could DJI have been bought on as a shareholder in November 2015 to help the funding crisis bought on by orders for a camera announced in June 2016 ?

And Contax, a digital camera maker ?  Er, yeah, right.  Try searching this site's archives for Contax N Digital.....and its aftermath.

Get a grip, Kevin.

[jduncan]

Seems to me this is pretty newsworthy, not sure why anyone would expect Kevin to sit on it.

Of course, lots of speculation about what it means, anything from the best thing that's happened to hasselblad in years to one more nail in the coffin.

I'm puzzled as to DJI's interest as well, I certainly see a little synergy, but I can't imagine they didn't have a specific need/goal that would benefit their core business model (maybe they're trying to develop or improve high end mapping drones).  That isn't necessarily a negative, just curious as to where and what products/markets they feel are synergistic.

What comes to my mind is after seeing what is reported as a runaway hit with preorders exploding past any thing they envisioned, the current investors didn't feel it was enough to turn things around.  i can't imagine they are going to recoup much of their investment from DJI, the company needs money, any investors willing to infuse that money usually just dilutes other investors. I hope it's not because the business plan/model of the new camera is coming in so far over budget it won't help in the long run.  I would speculate the camera was announced early to try and convince investors things could be turned around, which apparently didn't work.

Perhaps DJI sees a great product and feel they can help bygetting things manufactured faster and more reasonable which could be a big win.  Certainly no reason the quality has to suffer if the end product is controlled by the parent company ... Apple (and I'm sure several other companies) design a lot of nice products which are incredibly well made in China.

I was not expecting "Kevin to sit on it."
I was expecting him to write a balanced article, with a balanced title, and without the speculation (as presented on the article), that employees were leaving the company etc.
If you read the article again you are likely to understand where are we coming from.  Stuf like this: "What does this mean? Well, we can speculate all we want. I have been in this industry a very long time. I can imagine that many of Hasselblad’s employees are a bit worried, to say the least. It could be that a few of them are no longer with the company or are already looking elsewhere for employment. I am sure that DJI is going to come in and make significant changes. The investors have most likely arranged a share transfer program so that they will get some of their investment back. But what about the new X1D, the H line, and most importantly, the future of the company?" Or this one :"n all fairness, another Swedish iconic company – Volvo, is now owned by Chinese investors and  Volvo’s new models promise really well – if they sell."

[Hank Keeton]

Kevin...kudos to you for a well-written piece...factual and informative. For those who wish to bash such efforts...well...I'm sorry about that.

Doug... your historical review was accurate, (I even learned a few tidbits from it!!), and much appreciated. I did NOT infer any negativity from your presentation. Do not be discouraged by the nonsense. Sure...I'm one of your customers...but...you have much to offer, apart from my patronage, and this forum should be grateful.

For all those 'speculators" about what the future may bring...I say...Good Luck to everyone! May we all make great images with the gear we have (or dream about having...).

Kevin, I especially got a kick out of your historical recounting of your "Hasselbad Dreams and Adventures." You and I bought our first Hassys about the same time! You, of course, have had greater success, and offer much more to our collective well-being that I have been able to offer. But...the lenses you bought then...and ones I'm sure you've bought since...are making SUPERB  images for me today.....Credo-60 from DT...and Hassy from many "used" sources over the years (plus Sinar and Silvestri, too...!!)

Let's all gather our wits...and wish Hassy the very best.....like I wish for all the other manufacturers.

Now...let's all go out and be creative...

Cheers...and Happy New Year...!!

Hank