Woodford back in Japan but ex-chief could abandon bid to win back old job
THE FORMER head of Olympus returned to Japan yesterday where he said he will decide the future of his bid to return to his old post.
Michael Woodford (pictured), who was fired as chief executive in October and blew the whistle on a $1.7bn (£1.1bn) accounting scandal, faces long odds in his battle with current management over future leadership of the Japanese camera firm.
“There are several people I want to see to establish the way forward,” Woodford said as he arrived at Narita Airport.
Asked whether he would withdraw his bid to return to Olympus’ top job, he said: “I have made no decisions at all, I need to talk to many people. I will tell everyone tomorrow.”
Olympus’ lenders are expected to back existing managers with a plan to bring in a new domestic investor, possibly a rival such as Fujifilm Holdings, to pump more capital into the firm, according to bankers familiar with lenders’ thinking. Japanese media said Olympus may issue about ¥100bn (£836m) in new preferred shares, with Sony Corp and Fujifilm seen as possible buyers