Japan's Panasonic gears up to spend 1tr yen on acquisitions
Electronics giant says it aims to splash out on acquisitions over the next four years
Japanese electronics supplier Panasonic Corp said it was ready to spend 1 trillion yen (HK$64.8 billion) on acquisitions over the next four years, emboldened by a stronger profit outlook for its automotive and housing technology businesses.
Chief executive Kazuhiro Tsuga said at a briefing yesterday that Panasonic did not have specific acquisition targets in mind.
But he said the firm will spend about 200 billion yen on mergers and acquisitions in the fiscal year that starts in April alone, and pledged to improve on Panasonic's patchy track record on big deals.
"With strategic investments, if there's an opportunity to accelerate growth, you need funds. That's the idea behind the 1 trillion yen figure," he said.
Tsuga has spearheaded a radical restructuring at the Osaka-based company that has made it one of the strongest turnaround stories in Japan's embattled technology sector.
With strategic investments, if there's an opportunity to accelerate growth, you need funds. That's the idea behind the 1 trillion yen figure
Tsuga had previously said that company was interested in M&A deals in the European white goods market, a sector where Panasonic has comparatively low brand recognition.