Panasonic-Sanyo to dominate sector / Creation of massive firm tipped to shake up electronics-manufac

[FarCenter]

Satoshi Nakagawa,Fumitsuki Funakiand Yasuhiro Takizawa / Yomiuri Shimbun - http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20081109TDY03103.htm

Panasonic Corp.'s broad agreement on Friday to make Sanyo Electric Co. a subsidiary in spring will lead to the birth of Japan's largest and the world's second-largest electronics firm with annual combined sales of 11 trillion yen.

<snip>

The combined sales of Panasonic and Sanyo are an estimated 6 trillion yen less than the revenues of General Electric Co. of the United States. Nearly 50 percent of GE's revenues, however, derive from its financial services activities, and the company is in serious financial straits to the extent of needing more than 15 billion dollars in recapitalization. The Panasonic-Sanyo combination is effectively the world's largest in the electronics-manufacturing sector, and the capital bases of both of the firms are solid.

<snip>

Sanyo is the world's leading producer in terms of market share of lithium-ion batteries, demand for which is seen ballooning for use in electronic vehicles, while Panasonic is third. The collaboration of the two in the growing lithium-ion battery market is viewed by their domestic and overseas rivals, including Sony Corp. as having great potential.

<snip>