Panasonic and Sanyo agree on takeover

According to a press release, Panasonic will commence the tender offer as soon as it is practical after completion of the necessary legal procedures.

Upon the tender offer, Panasonic will purchase Sanyo common stock for 131 Yen (Euro 1.05) per share, Class A and Class B preferred stock at 1,310 Yen (Euro 10.50). Both parties have agreed that the tender offer is void if the total number of shares tendered for sale falls short of the majority of the issued shares of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. According to a press release, he company’s main investors, Ocean Holdings Co., Ltd. (an affiliate company of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.), Evolution Investments Co., Ltd. (a wholly-owened subsidiary of Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Co., Ltd.) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation are positively considering the sale of their Sanyo shares under the tender offer. The three parties currently hold approximately 4.33 billion shares, equivalent of 70.5 percent of the Sanyo voting rights.

By combining the accumulated technologies and manufacturing knowhow of both companies, Panasonic and Sanyo expect primary synergy effects in environmental technologies such as solar cells and in the rechargeable battery business, as well as in the production and marketing of consumer electronics devices and digital cameras. Panasonic also anticipates cost reductions due to restructuring measures under which Sanyo will become a subsidiary of Panasonic. To achieve these synergies, Panasonic considers various options, including a possible investment of approximately 100 billion Yen (Euro 800 million).