Hoya to continue discussions with Pentax

Referring to the Basic Understanding for Management Integration of Pentax and Hoya that was signed and released on December 21, 2006, Hoya said it found it difficult to achieve integration through a share swap merger “due to the circumstances of certain shareholders of Pentax as well as the existing contract between Pentax and the third party.” In order to overcome these circumstances, Hoya proposed to Pentax on April 7, 2007 to begin talks on a takeover offer instead of a share swap, according to the Basic Agreement. This proposal, Hoya pointed out, was approved unanimously by the Board members of the company on April 6, but the company had not received any response from Pentax as of today.

After Hoya received a letter from Pentax citing that the company had resolved to abandon the planned merger on April 10, 2007, the Hoya Board decided to continue the discussions with Pentax about the management integration of the two companies.