Canon’s Takeover Of Océ and You

The full takeover of Océ by Canon looks inevitable. Last week the Japanese company announced ownership of 71.3% of Océ stock. Minority Shareholders including Hermes Asset Management refused to sell, even taking Canon to the Amsterdam commerce court over the deal. They failed. Now Canon have issued these companies an ultimatum, telling them they have until 19 November to surrender their shares or becoming minority investors in a company Canon controls.

What though are the consequences of the takeover for Consumers? What ought Printerinks.com customers be aware of, following the deal’s closure? Find listed below the biggest implications of Canon’s takeover of Océ:

1. The two companies will spend 3 years integrating their infrastructures. Canon will transfer their research and development to Océ’s Amsterdam headquarters in this period. The Océ board of shareholders will remain independent, though ultimately reporting to Canon.
2. Production of Océ branded printers will be halted. For years, Océ haven’t manufactured their office imaging equipment, instead rebranding technology sold by Konica Minolta. Following Canon’s takeover this will stop, and Océ products will disappear. Canon printers may become more visible.
3. Canon will introduce before-sales and after-sales services into their portfolio. Océ’s existing document management software is industry leading. They have especial expertise in mailroom automation. Using this, Canon can turn themselves from a printer manufacturer into a managed print services provider. This mostly affects businesses.
4. The takeover creates a global print provider comparable to Hewlett Packard or Xerox. Canon and Océ aim to become the No. 1 printer maker globally. Their combination gives them good market penetration in these important sectors: Europe, Asia and North America. They can hence compete on a scale comparable to HP and Xerox.

The takeover is therefore no reason to hide in the basement stockpiling baked beans. Nor does it justify removing your existing printer to await some über model. It does significantly alter the printing market though. Expect to see great things from the augmented Canon / Océ in the coming years!