Olympus has reacted to press reports which claim that the scandal-hit firm is poised to sell up to 30% of its shares to Sony.

Sony has offered to take a 20-30% stake in Olympus, according to Japan-based newspaper the Nikkei.

In response, Olympus has issued a statement which reads: ‘Certain sections of the media have reported today regarding capital alliance or business alliance on Olympus Corporation [sic], which is not announced by the company.

‘While the company is currently considering all possible options for management reform, there has been no specific decision at this moment.’

At CES in Las Vegas, earlier this month, Sony refused to say whether it was interested in joining forces with Olympus, which is reeling from a massive accounting fraud.

Elizabeth Boukis, senior public relations manager at Sony USA, told AP: ‘We don’t comment on rumours.’

Asked if Fujifilm was considering a strategic alliance with Olympus, Hiroyuki Saitou, operations manager of Fuji’s imaging products planning division, also remained tight-lipped.

Saitou was at CES to launch a new Fuji compact system camera, the X-Pro1.

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