Equity firm eyes Olympus investment

PRIVATE equity firm TPG Capital is willing to invest up to €1 billion in Japan’s Olympus Corp in a joint deal with Sony Corp or another suitor circling the scandal-hit firm, a source said.

TPG has informed executives at Sony, Canon Inc, Fujifilm Holdings and Panasonic Corp of its interest in providing capital and expertise to help revive the maker of medical equipment and cameras, the source said.

Olympus has been seeking a friendly investor to make a minority investment and help its business recover from a €1.35bn accounting scandal that has crushed its stock price and left a big dent in its balance sheet.