A report out of Asia published last week says that Panasonic, a leader in commercial projection known especially for its cutting-edge, large venue projectors, will be selling its projector business as early as June.

According to the report out of Japan by the Nikkei Asia news agency, the Japanese financial services group Orix is a leading contender for the purchase, as is an unnamed international investment fund. The article cited an estimated sale price of 80 billion yen, or about $510 million.

Executives in Panasonic's U.S. division neither confirmed nor denied the Nikkei story, telling ProjectorCentral that "The recent reporting is not the result of any announcement by Panasonic. Regarding the contents of the [Nikkei] report and others, no decisions have been made at this time, and the company has nothing further to say."

Panasonic Holdings, the firm's parent company, was said by Nikkei to be looking to unload the projector business and focus on expanding its presence in developing supply-chain software and other B2B logistics solutions. Panasonic has participated in that segment since 2017 after acquiring Belgian firm Zetes Industries SA, a specialist in supply chain identification and data capture systems. More recently, in 2021, Panasonic announced the full acquisition for more than $7 billion of Blue Yonder, a leading U.S.-based provider of supply chain management services and software, after an earlier investment. The company subsequently renamed its operating unit Panasonic Connect, defining its mission as "Development, manufacture and sale of devices, and provision of solutions, including system integration, installation, maintenance and repair services for the supply chain, public service, infrastructure, and entertainment sectors."

Panasonic declined to respond to specific queries about the scope of product types or geographical markets that would be affected by the sale. Although the Nikkei report referred to Panasonic selling its "high-end projector business," it can be logically presumed that any sale will include the entire projector business unit including both its large-venue models ranging up to 50,000 ISO21118 lumens and smaller commercial and education projectors which currently go as low as 3,800 lumens. Panasonic Holdings doesn't break out financial results for projectors, but its 2024 fiscal results for the period ending March 31, 2024 cited 1,202.8 billion yen for the Connect business, with "Media Entertainment" sales contributing 111.0 billion yen, or about $708 million at today's conversion rate. For the 2023 fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 the same segment contributed 117.2 billion yen.

Until such time as a sale is completed and the intent and management approach of the new owner is revealed, it will be unknown how Panasonic's day to day projector business may be affected. If the business is purchased by a financial group with no experience in the projector industry, retention of capable staff and a mostly hands-off approach could be key in retaining the unit's success rate.

However, the projector industry as a whole is facing new competition from the declining prices of large flat-panel displays and the emergence of still-pricey but increasingly more affordable LED video walls. Although Panasonic's strong presence in the high-lumen segment as well as in immersive entertainment gives it some additional assurance other projector makers may lack, with Panasonic Holding's reported three-pronged growth strategy focused on EV batteries, heat pumps, and supply chain management, the perceived prospect of a weakening projector market could be another contributor to Panasonic's desire to divest the business sooner rather than later and focus on its other core businesses.

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