Japan's Panasonic to buy rival Sanyo

TOKYO, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Japanese consumer electronics company Panasonic Corp. has agreed to buy rival Sanyo Electric Co., the firms have announced.

The move comes as Japanese consumer product makers brace for an anticipated sales slowdown in the wake of the global financial crisis and an expected worldwide recession, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

A final sale price must still be agreed upon, the two sides said. It's likely, however, that Sanyo, which specializes in products for fast-growing sectors like solar power and batteries for electronics and cars, could fetch as much as $8.77 billion, analysts told the newspaper.

Panasonic has indicated it is looking for new growth strategies as it seeks to make up for sluggish demand for consumer electronics in its main Japanese market.

"After the financial crisis that hit in September, I felt the need to come up with specific solutions, and quickly," Seiichiro Sano, chief executive of Sanyo, told reporters Friday.