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 ...

To reduce cost off its books, Hitachi , Ltd. (HIT), based in Tokyo may use local contract manufacturers to make TVs overseas – the U.S. and Europe, according to some sources. There are no details as to what type of TVs (plasma or LCD) the company will outsource.   Hitachi is facing a sharp rise in the cost of raw materials, while at the same time finished product prices have been falling, a trend expected to continue over the near-term. Hitachi’s fiscal 2008 results were below expectation as the company experienced weakness across all of its segments.

Hitachi posted the largest loss in the company’s history in fiscal 2008. Operating profit also declined 63.2% in 2008 from fiscal 2007.   Thus to reduce operating expenses and improve margins, the company may outsource production abroad, which will lead to lower procurement costs thereby improving its cost structure. To turn around its

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Based in Osaka, Japan, Panasonic Corp. (PC) is a leading manufacturer of electronic and electrical parts component. To grow market shares in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC), Vietnam, Africa, and Latin America and increase customer base in these countries, Panasonic plans to develop a line of low-priced consumer-electronics products which has limited features.

In order to tap consumers in the emerging market, Panasonic will launch TVs for $50, air conditioners for $100 and washing machines for $200, which are expected to hit markets after October this year. Panasonic plans to use "lifestyle research" for the designing of these products.

We believe Panasonic’s success lies in is its ability to respond to rapid technological changes and changing consumer preferences with timely and cost-effective introductions of new low-priced products in markets, which are both price and technology conscious and are very competitive.

These low-priced products

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