News

Sanyo to Acquire Toshiba Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Assets

November 27, 2000 by Jeff Shepard

Sanyo Electric Co. (Moriguchi City, Japan) announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) and with Toshiba Battery Co. for the transfer of the Toshiba Group's nickel metal-hydride businesses to Sanyo.

The Toshiba group will gain proceeds of nearly 10 billion yen (over $90 million dollars) from the sale, and will henceforth concentrate on lithium-ion batteries for use in cellular phones, as well as the development of next-generation batteries. Meanwhile, the deal will substantially strengthen Sanyo's position in the market for nickel-hydride batteries, giving it a 60 percent share.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the three parties, Sanyo will acquire all the related assets transferred from Toshiba Battery Co. by March 2001. These assets will include the factory in Takasaki City, Japan, which is Toshiba Battery's current production base. All Toshiba employees affected by the acquisition, numbering some 500 people, have been invited to transfer to Sanyo and continue working under their current terms of employment with Toshiba Battery Co.