The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday cleared Panasonic Corp.'s (6752.TO, PC) $9 billion acquisition of Sanyo Electric Co. (6764.TO, SANYY), but required the companies to divest Sanyo's portable nickel metal hydride, or NiMH, 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 portable NiMH business to FDK Corp. (6955.TO), a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd. (6702.TO, FJTSY).

Sanyo had previously announced its intention to sell part of its battery business to FDK.

Panasonic and Sanyo also are leading makers of batteries for hybrid electric cars, but the FTC said the merger wouldn't harm competition in that market because several other firms are supplying a different type of battery for use in next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles.

Tuesday's approval by U.S. regulators was the final antitrust hurdle for the Panasonic-Sanyo deal. Antitrust officials in China approved the transaction in October and European Commission regulators cleared it in September.

The companies have said they hope to close the deal in December.

A Panasonic spokesman said the company had no immediate comment on Tuesday's clearance by the FTC. Officials with Sanyo didn't respond to a request for comment.

-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni Panasonic (NYSE:PC)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Panasonic
Grafico Azioni Panasonic (NYSE:PC)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Panasonic