OSAKA, Nov. 5, 2009 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: RECASTING FIRST 5 GRAFS)
Panasonic Corp. launched a tender offer Thursday for shares in Sanyo Electric Co. (OOTC:SANYY) , aiming to turn the electronics maker into a subsidiary, triggering falls in Sanyo's share price as Panasonic is offering 131 yen per share, sharply lower than the market level.
After Panasonic launched the offer, Sanyo became the day's largest percentage loser on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, plunging just over 20 percent from Wednesday's close of 216 yen to 172 yen, as individual investors sold their shares from early Trading.
Sanyo was also the day's most heavily traded stock in both value and volume on the TSE.
But the tender offer, lasting until Dec. 7, is seen as a done deal as the Goldman Sachs group (NYSE:GS) of the United States and two other major Sanyo shareholders, which hold more than 50 percent of Sanyo's outstanding shares, have agreed to sell their shares to Panasonic at the offered price.
Aiming to acquire more than 50 percent of Sanyo's share, Panasonic is expected to complete procedures to turn Sanyo into a subsidiary in December, about a year after it announced the plan to do so through a tender offer.
The offer was launched more than half a year behind schedule as competition policy watchdogs in countries where Panasonic and Sanyo operate have taken time to examine whether the integration would run counter to antitrust rules.
The integration is expected to boost Panasonic's share of the world battery market. In late October, Sanyo released a plan to sell some of its battery operations to clear concerns about antitrust problems.
The United States is soon expected to become the last country to approve the integration, following China, which gave its approval late last month.
The combined group sales of Panasonic and Sanyo came to 9.54 trillion yen in the business year that ended in March, close to the 10 trillion yen recorded by Hitachi Ltd., Japan's largest electrical machinery maker, and nearly 2 trillion more than sales at Sony Corp.
