FTC OK’s Panasonic’s| $9B Buyout of Sanyo

WASHINGTON (CN) - Sanyo will sell a battery-making plant in Japan so it can be bought out by Panasonic for $9 billion, the FTC said Tuesday in a consent order. The companies are the world's two largest makers of the nickel metal hydride batteries, which was the only concern the FTC had about the merger.

The batteries are used in two-way radios that U.S. police and fire departments use across the nation, the FTC said. Sanyo will sell its Japanese manufacturing plant to FDK Corp., a subsidiary of Fujitsu.

"The sale of the assets resolves competitive concerns that were raised by the transaction, which combines the world's two largest manufacturers and sellers of these batteries," the FTC said in a statement announcing the consent order. "No competitive concerns were raised by other overlaps between the companies."

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