According to DPReview.com Olympus Optics' parent organization is selling the camera maker division off to a company called Japan Industrial Partners. The story is HERE...
They blame the ingress into the market of smarphones, but the Pandemic has certainly impacted sales and manufacturing around the world. Some claim that Olympus lost their way: going from their Micro 4/3 format that was highly popular, to a large investment in expensive FF cameras aimed at a tiny percentage of the market. Either way, the future does not look good for the brand.
Personally, I shall be sorry to see the demise of Olympus in the camera world: they have a long, proud history of producing small, efficient cameras and optics that began in 1919 (camera manufacture began in 1936). I still have one of their cameras, a TG-5 that I must admit I have rarely used, but it is considered one of the best tough cameras on the market - perhaps that product will live on with some other brand.
The changes in technology, world conflict and the on-going pandemic issues are all putting pressures on camera makers. I think Canon have a good chance of weathering this and coming out as an even more dominant player with cameras like the EOS R5, if it fulfulls it's promise. I wonder if Nikon will fare as well...
cheers, TREVOR
The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
