Goldman Sachs to Sell $1.4 Billion Stake in Sanyo to Panasonic

Sept. 18, 2009
Part of Panasonic's takeover of Sanyo

Goldman Sachs said on Sept. 18 that it had agreed to sell a 15.7% stake in troubled Sanyo Electric to Panasonic Corp. for about 126 billion yen (US$1.4 billion).

Goldman said its Oceans Holdings Co. investment fund had signed an agreement to sell slightly more than half of its shares in Sanyo for 131 yen each as part of Panasonic's takeover of the struggling electronics maker. It will retain a stake of 13.3% which it "may sell in the near future," Goldman spokeswoman Hiroko Matsumoto said.

Panasonic announced in December that it had struck a deal to acquire a 70.5% stake in Sanyo for up to 800 billion yen, buying shares from Goldman as well as Japan's Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui.

Panasonic had aimed to announce the launch of the tender offer by late February but it has been delayed due to regulatory issues.

Sanyo, which started out making bicycle lamps after World War II, issued several billion dollars' worth of stock to the clutch of financial heavyweights in 2006 to shore up its capital base.

It reported a net loss of 18.4 billion yen for the April-June quarter due to a slump in the electronic component business.

Recently Sanyo has tried to focus on environmental technologies -- areas coveted by Panasonic, which is cutting 15,000 jobs and closing dozens of plants as it struggles to recover from its first annual loss for six years.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!