Canon Inc. Chairman, President and CEO: Fujio Mitarai announced that it has concluded a share transfer agreement with Toshiba Corporation ("Toshiba"; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Masashi Muromachi) concerning the acquisition from Toshiba of shares of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation ("TMSC"; Headquarters: Tochigi Prefecture, Japan; President: Toshio Takiguchi) to make TMSC a Canon subsidiary. This transaction is conditional upon the clearance of necessary competition regulatory authorities.
Under Phase V of its Excellent Global Corporation Plan, a five-year initiative launched in 2016, Canon aims to embrace the challenge of new growth through a grand strategic transformation. With regard to reinforcing and expanding new businesses in particular, which represents one of the important strategies to be carried out during this phase, Canon intends to cultivate its health care business within the safety and security sector as a next-generation pillar of growth.
TMSC is one of the leading global companies in the medical equipment industry. Within the field of medical X-ray computed tomography (CT) systems in particular, TMSC is the overwhelming market share leader in Japan and has been steadily increasing its global market share. Additionally, TMSC is the only company in the industry with a broad product portfolio that spans diagnostic X-ray systems, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, diagnostic ultrasound systems and diagnostic nuclear medicine systems. The company also offers cutting-edge medical imaging solutions and in-vitro diagnostics aimed at individualized care.