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The
deal could be worth up to $1 billion and the two companies could
reach a basic agreement as early as this month, the Nikkei
business daily reported Monday.
An acquisition of ZKW would expand Panasonic's automotive
lineup, which currently centers on batteries and navigation
systems, as it shifts its focus to corporate clients to escape
price competition from lower-margin consumer electronics
manufacturers.
Panasonic said in a statement the reported deal was not
something it had announced, and declined to comment further.
Austria-based ZKW declined to comment. It employed more than
5,900 staff at the end of last year and has plants in Austria,
India, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, China, the United States
and Mexico, according to its website.
Privately held ZKW supplies light-emitting diode headlights and
lighting modules to U.S. and European automakers such as General
Motors Co <GM.N> and BMW <BMWG.DE>. It forecasts sales of about
900 million euros ($949.59 million) in 2016.
"ZKW is among various deals that Panasonic is considering," said
the source, who was not authorized to discuss the matter and
asked not to be named.
"But no details have been decided and the deal could fall
through," he said.
Panasonic has earmarked 1 trillion yen ($8.80 billion) for
strategic investments including mergers and acquisitions for the
four years through March 2019. Of that amount, 70 percent has
been already completed or allocated for specific deals, the
company has said.
The possible acquisition comes at a time when rival electronics
makers are also pushing into the automotive industry. Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> agreed in November to buy Harman
International Industries in an $8 billion deal.
Panasonic is targeting annual sales of 2 trillion yen for its
automotive business in the year ending in March 2019, up from
1.3 trillion yen in the last financial year that ended in March.
Last year Panasonic took a 49 percent stake in Spanish
automotive mirror manufacturer Ficosa International and plans to
contribute $1.6 billion to Tesla Motors' <TSLA.O> $5 billion
battery factory.
($1 = 113.5900 yen)
($1 = 0.9478 euros)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, additional reporting by Alexandra
Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim/Stephen
Coates/Louise Heavens)
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