Panasonic and Sanyo strengthen family ties

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} ┬á Japanese electronics group Panasonic is to acquire rival Sanyo for $9 billion through a public tender offer after major shareholders, including Goldman Sachs, agreed to the takeover after some initial resistance.   Panasonic and Sanyo (whose founders are brothers-in-law) released a joint statement today saying they had to take "drastic action" to boost revenue growth.   A combination of the two companies would create one of the world's largest electronics companies, adding Sanyo's strength in green energy, such as solar panels and rechargeable batteries, to PanasonicÔÇÖs already broad product range.   Both Panasonic and Sanyo have been hit by a stronger yen, rising material costs and falling gadget prices. Sanyo has cut thousands of jobs and sold off unprofitable operations, while Panasonic cut its annual profit forecast by 90 percent because of the global economic downturn.   But Panasonic is less dependent on exports to the US than Sanyo, which has helped it do better than some of its Japanese rivals.   The joint statement said Panasonic expects to start the tender offer soon for all Sanyo shares, hoping to complete the deal by February.     *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *