UPDATE 1 Olympus names six member panel to probe scandal
Post on: 2011-11-02 By: admin
* Olympus says panel picked in line with law association
guidelines
* Panel to be chaired by Tatsuo Kainaka, former supreme
court judge
* Olympus says no deadline set yet for panel to report
findings
TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Olympus Corp on Tuesday
revealed members of a panel, including a former Japanese supreme
court judge, that it pledges will conduct an independent probe
into past M&A deals at the core of a scandal engulfing the
endoscope maker.
It picked the group of six, including five lawyers and an
accountant, based on guidelines on third-party panels issued by
the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Olympus said in a
statement.
None of the six have had any previous association with the
company, an Olympus spokeswoman said. As yet, no deadline for
the group to report its findings has been set, she added.
The panel will look into $687 million in payments made to a
financial adviser for the $2 billion purchase of British medical
equipment maker Gyrus in 2008 and the acquisition of three
companies in Japan that Olympus, under former chairman Tsuyoshi
Kikukawa, later largely wrote off.
Investors are closely watching for any attempt by the
management to appoint investigators who may be sympathetic to
the their position.
The head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday warned that
the company risked legal action from shareholders unless the
probe was thorough and unbiased.
Major shareholders are also clamoring for disclosure of what
went on in the Olympus boardroom when it agreed to the adviser
fees and acquisitions at home.
Southeastern Asset Management, the largest non-Japanese
investor, wants the company to publish minutes of board meetings
related to the series of payments.
Pressure on the firm to clean house has also come from
Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, who asked the company
for clarification in an interview in the Financial
Times.
Chairing the panel is Tatsuo Kainaka, who served as a
supreme court judge in Japan from October 2002 to January 2010.
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