Japan’s biggest consumer electronics maker said in a statement Thursday it will buy shares in the two companies through a public tender offer, aiming for a complete purchase by April 2011. Shares in the target companies soared while Panasonic tumbled.
Panasonic Corp. already owns 51 percent of Panasonic Electric Works Co., which has lighting, electric and housing operations, and owns 50.05 percent of Sanyo Electric Co., a money-losing unit with strong battery and solar panel businesses that Panasonic took over in December.
Panasonic, which makes Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras, plans to spend up to 818.4 billion yen ($9.4 billion) on buying out the two companies. It said it has cash and can borrow to finance the purchases but is also considering a share issue of up to 500 billion yen ($5.7 billion).
The move underlines the strategy of Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo who has repeatedly said that ecological businesses, including batteries for electric vehicles and solar panels for green homes, will be the backbone of the electronics maker.
Osaka-based Panasonic will offer 1,110 yen per share for Panasonic Electric and 138 yen per share for Sanyo in a tender starting Aug. 23 through Oct. 6. Panasonic will also carry out stock swaps to complete the buyout, if needed, it said.
Separately, the company’s earnings report Thursday showed it recovering from the slump it suffered after the global financial crisis. April-June profit totaled 43.7 billion yen ($502 million), a reversal from a 53 billion yen loss a year earlier.
