Pentax, Hoya to merge in October

It seems that Japan's expected year of industry consolidation is underway with the announcement that Pentax and Hoya will merge to form a single company, Hoya Pentax HD Corp, due to be completed by October 1st following the signing of an contract to that end in April.

This is the first in an anticipated run of announcements of its kind as restrictions relating to mergers and acquisitions are relaxed in Japan during 2007.

Hoya is Japan's leading manufacturer of optical glass and is Camera-Warehouse's choice for digital SLR filters. Both Hoya and Pentax operate in the medical equipment industry, and it is believed that the merger is centred around joint efforts in this market.

Pentax are currently enjoying massive success with the recent release of the very popular K10D digital slr.