Olympus and Sony to sign an agreement soon?

Our reader Mistral (Thanks!) found the following news via NHK and translated it for us:

“Sony and Olympus announced yesterday September 14th that they have entered into exclusive negotiations to conclude a capitalistic partnership.

–    Olympus discussed with several potential partners but eventually chose Sony
–    Sony will invest ¥50bn (i.e. €485m or $640m) in Olympus
–    Olympus and Sony will set up a joint-venture to develop medical devices of the next generation, such as high definition endoscopes with video and 3D technology
–    in order to leverage Olympus’s business of digital cameras, which is in a slump (literally: 不振), Olympus and Sony will promote cooperation and jointly develop some components

Both parties expect to sign a definitive agreement within a month.”

If that news is true than I guess there will be more Sony technology in future Olympus cameras. Not just sensor (see [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]) but also OLED viewfinder technology, video knowledge and so on…