Panasonic Corp just announced that it will pay $4.6 billion to take the reins at Sanyo Electric Company. With the two companies’ powers combined, the result will be one of the largest electronics makers in the world.
Panasonic will pay 403.78 billion yen ($4.6 billion) for 50.2 percent of Sanyo, paying 131 yen per share. The move will enable Panasonic to tap the Sanyo team’s expertise in terms of green technologies like solar panels and rechargeable batteries. It also makes Panasonic a major player in the potentially lucrative hybrid car market. According to this press release on TradingMarkets.com, Sanyo is expected to supply batteries for up to 10,000 hybrid vehicles each year. Panasonic also plans to triple its lithium battery production by 2011, investing an additional 123 billion yen.