Panasonic, Sanyo deal runs into rough weather

28 February 2009

Japanese electronic giant, Panasonic Corporation said it would not be able to reveal details or schedule for its planned takeover of Sanyo Electric, the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, before late April.

Panasonic planned to make Sanyo a subsidiary by the end of March through a public tender offer, following the conclusion of the capital and business alliance agreement announced by Panasonic on 19 December, 2008.

The statement from the company suggests that the deal may face regulatory hurdles globally.

Panasonic was all set to buy Sanyo shares via the tender offer from the US investment bank Goldman Sachs and Japanese banking firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Daiwa Securities, as well as individual shareholders (See: Panasonic looking to acquire Sanyo to create Japan's largest electronics company) </industry/electronics_cons/20081108_panasonic.html>

''The tender offer is scheduled to be launched as soon as practicable following the completion of necessary procedures and measures under domestic and foreign competition laws and regulations'', a company statement said.

''Pursuant to domestic and foreign competition laws and regulations, all procedures in Japan, the US, Europe, China and other countries required for the launch of the tender offer are in progress. Update on further progress will be announced around late April 2009'', it added.