Leica
Leica Camera AG
Leica Camera AG is a German company that makes cameras, photographic lenses and sports optics, and also sells spectacle lenses, watches and smartphones under the Leica name. Its origins go back to the Optical Institute that Carl Kellner founded in Wetzlar in 1849; Ernst Leitz became its sole owner in 1869 and renamed it Ernst Leitz Wetzlar. In 1986 the Leitz businesses were divided into separate camera, microscope (Leica Microsystems) and surveying (Leica Geosystems) companies; the camera company went public in 1996.
Andreas Kaufmann acquired a majority of the shares in 2006 and 2007, Blackstone bought a minority stake in 2011, and the company left the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2012; talks to sell a controlling stake ended in September 2026 without a deal. Leica has been headquartered at Leitz-Park in Wetzlar since 2014. Leitz Cine GmbH, the cine-lens maker founded as CW Sonderoptic, is a separate company on the same campus.
Oskar Barnack built the Ur-Leica in 1914 to take photographs on 35mm cinema film, and the Leica I went on sale in 1925. Leica introduced the L-Mount in 2014; Panasonic and Sigma joined it in the L-Mount Alliance in 2018.
- Founded
- 1869, Wetzlar, Hesse, Germany
- Headquarters
- Leitz-Park, Wetzlar, Hesse, Germany — Global, Leica Camera AG
- Parent Company
- NonePrivately held: ACM Projektentwicklung GmbH (Andreas Kaufmann) 55%, funds advised by Blackstone 45%
- Subsidiaries
- Leica Eyecare GmbH — Spectacle lenses
- Ernst Leitz Werkstätten GmbH — Watches and accessories
Sources · researched Oct 4, 2026
- Leica Camera — Wikipedia
- Leica Camera press release (2019): 150th anniversary of the company name Ernst Leitz Wetzlar (1869)
- Blackstone press release (2011): Leica Camera gains strategic investor in Blackstone
- PetaPixel (Sept 2026): While much about Leica is changing, its ownership seemingly isn't
- PetaPixel (Jun 2026): HSG emerges as leading bidder for a stake in Leica Camera
- DPReview (2021): Ernst Leitz Wetzlar joins L-Mount Alliance — separate company from Leica
- Film and Digital Times (15 Jun 2018): CW Sonderoptic renamed Leitz Cine Wetzlar
- Leica Camera press release (12 Mar 2025): Four Generations Leitz in Company Management 1869–1986
- Leitz Cine (1 Oct 2024): Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH renamed Leitz Cine GmbH
- L-Mount Alliance — Wikipedia
- Leica Camera logo — Wikimedia Commons