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Canon's acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems is a done deal

by Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | December 20, 2016
Business Affairs

The tricky maneuver was basically legal but unprincipled according to one expert. "The scheme is slipping through a set of accounting rules regarding special-purpose vehicles," Yuji Hosono, a certified public accountant experienced in corporate auditing, told Reuters when the deal first happened, adding that "it's compliant, but goes against the principles of accounting."

Japanese law requires that any such deal, which could lead to antitrust problems, be reported to the FTC beforehand. Using warrants effectively got around that requirement.

Canon said it would take the warning into account in the future, while admitted no wrong. “We will firmly follow the law while improving transparency of our business,” the company stated.

The Japan FTC remained unamused. "Canon thought the deal would be approved without problem if they used this method," said the commission's Shinagawa. "This method should not be repeated by any companies, and if they do in the future, they could get a red light."

The deal made sense to Canon, according to the company, as part of its five-year initiative, launched in 2016.

Calling the move part of a “grand strategic transformation” it stated that it intends to “cultivate its health care business within the safety and security sector as a next-generation pillar of growth.”

It described Toshiba Medical as “one of the leading global companies in the medical equipment industry,” noting that “within the field of medical X-ray computed tomography systems in particular, Toshiba Medical is the overwhelming market share leader in Japan and has been steadily increasing its global market share.”

Canon also stressed Toshiba Medical's strength in diagnostic X-ray systems, magnetic resonance imaging systems, diagnostic ultrasound systems and diagnostic nuclear medicine systems.”

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