p.1 #2 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
Could be good or bad depending on the buyer and seems like if they're offering a majority stake, they're hoping a strategic buyer will swoop in and pay a premium.
I'd say the Hasselblad x DJI collaboration turned out to be a net positive for Hasselblad and consumers - hopefully that's the case with this one as well.
p.1 #3 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
I'd love to see Zeiss step in and buy that stake. Bringing both companies under one roof would result in some very cool products and also gives Zeiss a functioning photography business again.
p.1 #5 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
tzhang4284 wrote:
Could be good or bad depending on the buyer and seems like if they're offering a majority stake, they're hoping a strategic buyer will swoop in and pay a premium.
I'd say the Hasselblad x DJI collaboration turned out to be a net positive for Hasselblad and consumers - hopefully that's the case with this one as well.
Maybe Inst360??
They already have a partnership with Leica. Then again so does Huawei.
p.1 #7 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
tzhang4284 wrote:
Could be good or bad depending on the buyer and seems like if they're offering a majority stake, they're hoping a strategic buyer will swoop in and pay a premium.
I'd say the Hasselblad x DJI collaboration turned out to be a net positive for Hasselblad and consumers - hopefully that's the case with this one as well.
The difference is that DJI is a consumer-facing company while the two companies listed above as potential buyers are both private equity.
The risk for Leica is that new owners may lack a full understanding of the value of the heritage and unique approach that Leica has taken in the photography industry. They may just focus on short-term benefit in their spreadsheets..
p.1 #8 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
I don’t think the possible buyers have any interest in the camera business as such but is looking for a capital investment that can grow and give them a good return on their invested money. They probably have good skills on how to run a successful business that might be helpful to Leica management but I doubt they will ever talk to an Leica engineer on how to improve the rangefinder mechanism
p.1 #9 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
Internally, Leica is very much focused on expanding it product lines. The watches are an example of this effort. However, my understanding is that sales of watches are much less than expected. The sales count in one Country with a big Leica Store presence is under 5 at this point. I expected sales to be low, but that is ridiculous in my opinion.
There will be a big push in Leica branded smartphones in the near future. They will get important placement in Leica owned stores. Makes more sense to me than watches as the second most used function of smartphones after communications is the camera. Leica is already seeing meaningful revenue from smartphone collaborations. What would be seen as failure in sales from a larger company with a camera and phone business would be a home run for Leica.
Eyewear is also in active development currently. Again, expect to see placement in stores.
This ambitious vision is also affecting hiring in some customer facing positions and likely at the corporate level too. Where camera experience was an important hiring criteria it seems that now people with general luxury brand, customer engagement and experiences strengths are being hired. Easier to train on cameras than try to develop the other things in a hire.
So, obviously we will see noticeable changes in the Leica Company going forward. No matter who buys (or retains) Leica change and focus will be driven by revenue and profits. Ownership with deep pockets will be an important protection for us photographers.
p.1 #10 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
tzhang4284 wrote:
Could be good or bad depending on the buyer and seems like if they're offering a majority stake, they're hoping a strategic buyer will swoop in and pay a premium.
I'd say the Hasselblad x DJI collaboration turned out to be a net positive for Hasselblad and consumers - hopefully that's the case with this one as well.
It’s not majority stake. Black rock only owns 45% stake. Dr. Kaufmann owns the majority stake (55%)
p.1 #11 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
Think they will push smartphone narrative as main profit volume too. Been seeing Leica marketing smartphones as natural evolution of reportage (which to be fair it is). So maybe eat up some of the luxury camera focused smartphone segment.
Also Zeiss does have cash reserves of about 2b but after outstandings net is actually -250m so only partial acquisition stake would be considered. But the whole of Zeiss consumer optics and lenses portfolio is all bundled in "other" which is like under 2% of their total rev. Plus they are migrating towards AI infra, so Leica stake wouldn't make any sense.
p.1 #12 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
Pkash wrote:
It’s not majority stake. Black rock only owns 45% stake. Dr. Kaufmann owns the majority stake (55%)
Dr Kaufman is said to be participating in the sale. So, it is a majority stake that is being offered. The statement said that the Kaufmann family may re-invest in Leica after the sale. I believe that implies that 100% of the company is on the table, subject to negotiations.
The reported interest from Zeiss is from way back in 2017. I see no reference to interest from Zeiss in the current offering.
The fact that a large investment bank has been hired to negotiate a deal means to me that a sale is more likely than not.
p.1 #15 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
My fear is that whoever buys Leica will not buy it as an image generating company (whether cameras, optics, etc) but as a luxury brand. They will continue producing cameras, of course, as the basis for the name and brand recognition, but they will be more interested in making luxury items under the Leica name. They will minimize expenditure on new photography and optical products, but instead you will get a Leica watch (oops), a Leica leather bag and luggage etc.
Very different from DJI acquiring Hasselblad.
p.1 #16 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
mranger211 wrote:
My fear is that whoever buys Leica will not buy it as an image generating company (whether cameras, optics, etc) but as a luxury brand. They will continue producing cameras, of course, as the basis for the name and brand recognition, but they will be more interested in making luxury items under the Leica name. They will minimize expenditure on new photography and optical products, but instead you will get a Leica watch (oops), a Leica leather bag and luggage etc.
Wouldn't that just be a continuation of the direction that present day Leica has already taken?
p.1 #17 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
1bwana1 wrote:
Internally, Leica is very much focused on expanding it product lines. The watches are an example of this effort. However, my understanding is that sales of watches are much less than expected. The sales count in one Country with a big Leica Store presence is under 5 at this point. I expected sales to be low, but that is ridiculous in my opinion..
The problem with Leica watches is they are not an established luxury watch brand. Watch afficionados know the lux brands and instantly have recognized Leica as just trying to cash in on that but w/o having the brand cachet or history.
Leica may be a luxury player in the photography world, and have the heritage to back that up. But have none in the watch segment.
No-one is going to buy a Leica watch instead of a Rolex, Patek, Cartier etc. Leica does not even make their watches, they are partnerships with others.
p.1 #18 · "Blackstone Could Sell Control Of Leica In €1 Billion Deal "
Agree. I think that they may have been counting on Leica camera users to buy the watches. That doesn't seem to be happening in any kind of meaningful volume. I know lots of Leica using photographers. I don't know one that wears a Leica watch.
