Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]- ----- Original Message ----- From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Friday, January 28, 2000 2:35 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica viability & Cambridge Instrument Company PLC > At 07:50 PM 1/27/2000 EST, MGMcGough@aol.com wrote: > > I am aware that the Swiss conglomerate (Schmeidheiny?) allowed the camera > > division to separate from the mother company & float its own stock but isn't > > Leica still owned by them? > > No. It was a management buy-out: the Leica management floated a loan and > bought the camera and binocular division completely in 1992. Wild Leitz > (owned by Schmidheiny) had previously been taken over by the British firm, > Cambridge Instrument Company PLC (oddly enough, founded in 1881 by a son of > Charles Darwin but now apparently primarily US owned). Schmidheiny might > well have been part of the management buy-out, but I suspect it is a lot > more hands-off than it might have been. > > > msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 > Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir! > ########### If I remember, Marc, the LMBO was planned by Bruno Frey, the CEO of Leica Camera, but never executed. The swiss holding changed its strategy and prefered to control Leica by keeping a narrow majority of shares. Frey dismissed. BTW if the Leica stock increased, there is an explanation : the planned repurchase of stoks by the holding. Dominique