PANASONIC BEGINS TENDER OFFER TO BUY SANYO

       Panasonic said yesterday it has begun a tender offer to take over smaller rival Sanyo Electric for an estimated 402 billion yen (Bt150 billion), moving loser to create one of the world's biggest electronics makers.
       Panasonic, the world's biggest plasma TV maker,is expected to purchase more than 50 per cent of Sanyo shares, hoping to take advantage of the smaller rival's green businesses in solar panels and rechargeable batteries.
       Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota said the tender offer is planned for Nove,ber 5 through December 7 at the price of yen 131 per share.
       Sanyo's three major shareholders, Goldman Sachas, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, have agreed to sell at least a combined 3.07 billion shares to Panasonic at the per-share price, which guarantees the Osaka-based company to take majority stake in Sanyo.
       The three shareholders tog4ther control about 70 per cent of Sanyo's total about 70 per cent of Sanyo's total outstanding shares.
       Panasonic has said earlier it hoped to purchase up to all of Sanyo's shares,but the company is largely expected to have to settle with the minimum controlling stake, as other shasre holders are unlikely to want to sell theirs, with half of the market level.
       Kadota said that Sanyo is expected to become Panasonic's subsidiary by mid-December, a year after the two companies announced the buy out deal.
       The tender offer had been delayed by several months as Panasonic had to wait for clearance from antimonopoly authorities in the US, China and the European Union to go ahead with the takeover.