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
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