US FTC Clears Panasonic's Buy Of Sanyo, With Conditions
By Brent Kendall, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday cleared
Panasonic Corp.'s (6752.TO) $9 billion acquisition of Sanyo Electric Co. (
6764.TO), but required the companies to divest Sanyo's portable nickel metal
hydride battery business as a condition of government approval.
The FTC said the divestiture was necessary to preserve competition in the
market for NiMH rechargeable batteries used to power two-way radios and other
products.
Panasonic and Sanyo are the world's two largest producers of NiMH batteries.
The companies will sell Sanyo's NiMH business to FDK Corporation, a subsidiary
of Fujitsu Ltd.
"Our nation's police and fire departments rely on portable nickel metal
hydride batteries to power the two-way radios that they use every day as part of
their public safety missions," said Richard Feinstein, Director of the FTC's
Bureau of Competition. "The consent order announced today protects consumers by
preserving competition in the market for these critical batteries."
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-24-090959ET
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