Tokyo-based Olympus Corporation, founded in 1919, manufactures digital cameras and electronic equipment, including medical imaging equipment. Sales for the 2011 fiscal year were $10.6 billion. Olympus shares are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its American Depository Receipts are traded on the U.S. over-the-counter market (i.e., the “Pink Sheets”).
According to Reuters, the market value of the company’s shares dropped by 76 percent between October 14, 2011 and November 9, 2011, wiping out more than $6 billion for shareholders (Stempel and Cruise 2011). The event that triggered the decline in stock price took place on October 14, 2011, when the company fired its CEO, Michael Woodford, two weeks after his appointment.
As background for this case, the Japanese economy enjoyed tremendous prosperity during the 1980s. One indicator of this prosperity, the Nikkei 225 index, rose from less than 6,000 in January of 1980 to a peak of 38,915 at the end of December 1989—an increase of 550 percent over ten years. But Japan’s success also caused the yen to rise during this period. In January 1985, the exchange rate of yen per dollar was approximately 254. By December 1989, that rate had dropped by 43.7 percent to 143. The rising yen increased pressure on the operating profits of Japanese companies, which relied heavily on exports.
Tokyo-based Olympus Corporation, founded in 1919, manufactures digital cameras and electronic equipment, including medical imaging equipment. Sales for the 2011 fiscal year were $10.6 billion. Olympus shares are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its American Depository Receipts are traded on the U.S. over-the-counter market (i.e., the “Pink Sheets”).According to Reuters, the market value of the company’s shares dropped by 76 percent between October 14, 2011 and November 9, 2011, wiping out more than $6 billion for shareholders (Stempel and Cruise 2011). The event that triggered the decline in stock price took place on October 14, 2011, when the company fired its CEO, Michael Woodford, two weeks after his appointment.As background for this case, the Japanese economy enjoyed tremendous prosperity during the 1980s. One indicator of this prosperity, the Nikkei 225 index, rose from less than 6,000 in January of 1980 to a peak of 38,915 at the end of December 1989—an increase of 550 percent over ten years. But Japan’s success also caused the yen to rise during this period. In January 1985, the exchange rate of yen per dollar was approximately 254. By December 1989, that rate had dropped by 43.7 percent to 143. The rising yen increased pressure on the operating profits of Japanese companies, which relied heavily on exports.
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