Panasonic Corp. (PC) provided another update on the acquisition of SANYO Electric Co Ltd. (SANYY) at its Board Meeting held on Nov 4, 2009. The company announced the start of its tender offer to acquire 3.1 billion shares of SANYO (or more than 50% of the company’s total shares) for approximately $4.4 billion (403 billion yen).  Earlier, Panasonic had planned to take over all of Sanyo's shares. Panasonic had entered into a capital and business alliance agreement with SANYO in Dec 2008. The latter is a leading company in the rechargeable battery business focused on lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Panasonic is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic and electrical products, systems and components.  The tender offer is planned for Nov 5 through Dec 7 at a price of $1.4 or 131 yen per share. Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (Sanyo's ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 3, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Panasonic Corp. (PC), SANYO Electric Co Ltd. (SANYY), Sony (SNE), Hitachi (HIT) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Panasonic Still Awaits Approval

Panasonic Corp. (PC), one of the leading manufacturers of electronic and electrical products, systems and components, recently said that it is still waiting for regulatory approval for acquiring SANYO Electric Co Ltd. (SANYY).

Panasonic entered into a capital and business

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The world’s biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) is planning to source lithium-ion batteries for its hybrid vehicles from Sanyo Electric Co. to keep pace with the growing demand for electric cars.

Sanyo, the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, will supply cells for about 10,000 vehicles every year. Sanyo aims to quadruple sales to automakers by 2015 as demand for gasoline-electric cars increases. Toyota will begin using the lithium-ion batteries in 2011.

Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota’s joint venture with Panasonic Corp. (PC) is currently the sole supplier of nickel-metal hydride batteries. Panasonic plans to take over Sanyo and double production capacity to around 1 million units a year by the middle of 2010. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval.

Lithium-ion batteries have higher output and capacity than the nickel-metal hydride type that Toyota uses in the Prius and other hybrid vehicles. Demand for gasoline-electric vehicles

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HIT's Lithium-Ion Capacity ExpandsHitachi Ltd. (HIT), a Tokyo-based global conglomerate, is expected to supply advanced lithium-ion batteries to General Motors (GMGMQ) in 2010 for use in its gasoline hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV). The deal with GM will increase Hitachi's production capacity for lithium-ion and expand its business in the automotive-related field. It will also meet rising demand for gas-electric cars.Hitachi expects the global market for HEVs to expand from 690,000 units in 2007 to 1.5 million units in 2010. As a result, Hitachi estimates the demand for HEV lithium-ion batteries to overtake that of the current mainstream nickel metal hydride batteries by 2015. Toyota Motor (TM), which currently uses nickel-metal hydride batteries, will start using lithium-ion batteries for its plug-in hybrid cars for the first time.The company ...