Panasonic to Sell Part of Healthcare Business

Panasonic (Osaka, Japan) will sell its ultrasonic diagnostic equipment business to Konica Minolta (Osaka, Japan), as part of efforts to improve its financial base.

Konica Minolta and Panasonic Healthcare have been jointly developing ultrasonic systems for several years. To further enhance the expansion of its healthcare business, Konica Minolta has signed a business transfer agreement under which Panasonic Healthcare's assets necessary for planning, development, manufacturing, sales, and maintenance will be transferred, effective as of January 1, 2014. The existing OEM-supply business relationship between Panasonic Healthcare and its customers will also be transferred to Konica Minolta. Konica Minolta will also take on the staff of more than 100, patents, and the OEM clients. Financial details were not disclosed.

The acquisition provides Konica Minolta with a faster route to establish a presence and augment its medical equipment segment with a foothold in the ultrasound diagnostic equipment market, which enjoys such advantages as enabling real-time diagnostic imaging and putting less physical burden on patients under repeated inspections because of its low-intrusion nature. The ultrasound diagnostic equipment market was estimated at USD 5.76 billion in 2012, and has a projected annual growth rate of around 5%.

“Konica Minolta continues to enhance its growth strategy in the healthcare business by expanding digital X-ray diagnostic imaging systems, including the AeroDR, its current mainstream products, fostering Healthcare IT services business and driving growth of business for new ultrasound diagnostic equipment with benefits based on Konica Minolta's innovative strength,” said the company in a press statement. “Konica Minolta will make further efforts in facing challenges to develop state-of-the-art technologies in the medical imaging fields and create new values for the customers with high-quality products, services, and solutions.”


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