Nikon wants to expand its medical business due to slumping camera sales

In a bid to counter a slump in its camera sales, Nikon Corp.’s incoming chief executive said on Tuesday he would aggressively expand his company’s medical-device business through acquisitions. Kazuo Ushida, currently the senior executive vice president, said the Tokyo-based camera maker plans to spend about $2 billion for mergers and acquisitions in the medical and instruments businesses over the next three years. “Merger and acquisition will account for a large part of the initial sharp growth” in the medical business, Mr. Ushida said. “There is a huge potential” in this business, he added. Mr. Ushida, who will take over as CEO pending approval at an annual shareholders meeting later this month, said Nikon will hire M&A experts to compile a list of targets and to handle due diligence and postmerger integration. It also will allocate nearly a quarter of its $2.2 billion in planned research-and-development spending for the medical business and new areas. The transition comes as Nikon grapples with falling sales of its compact digital cameras and digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras as consumers opt to snap photos on their smartphones.