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Panasonic and Sanyo signs Panasonic is less dependent on exports to the US than Sanyo
Japanese electronics group Panasonic says it has begun the process to take over a majority stake in smaller rival Sanyo for 402bn yen ($4.4bn; £2.7bn).
Panasonic, the world's biggest plasma TV maker, has made an offer to buy more than half of Sanyo's shares.
Sanyo's three big shareholders - Daiwa Securities, Goldman Sachs and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking - are to sell a combined 3.07 billion shares to Panasonic.
Panasonic said Sanyo was expected to become its subsidiary by mid-December.
Panasonic is interested in Sanyo's green energy businesses, such as solar panels and batteries.
The deal comes a year after the pair first announced a potential takeover, and is set to make Panasonic a major player in the fast-growing market for hybrid car batteries.
Sanyo has been facing problems in recent years, cutting thousands of jobs and selling unprofitable operations.
Recently it has been hit by a stronger yen and rising material costs.
It was also forced to change its top management after an accounting scandal about falsifying past earnings and reporting a profit when it had actually made a loss.
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