Sony and Canon have well established and respected, widely used cinema camera product lines. Nikon, presently, does not. You will not see Nikon cameras (video,

Sony and Canon have well established and respected, widely used cinema camera product lines. Nikon, presently, does not. You will not see Nikon cameras (video, not still image) being used for 'serious' film, tv or documentary production use right now. Acquiring RED gives them this product line and capability. I would also bet that if Jannard is a majority shareholder of RED, he's now 74 years old and wants to enjoy his retirement, so selling the company for a pile of money seems like a sensible move.