Panasonic: No Decision on Sanyo Purchase

Panasonic(PC Quote), responding to media reports, said it hasn't decided anything with regards to a purchase of Sanyo.

"This announcement was not made by Panasonic, and the company has not decided anything in regards to the purchase," Panasonic said in a statement late Sunday.

Reuters, citing sources, reports Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo and Sanyo President Seiichiro Sano met last month and agreed in principle to Sanyo becoming a subsidiary, but that there hasn't been any agreement on other details such as price.

Japanese media reported over the weekend that Panasonic, the world's largest maker of plasma televisions, was in negotiations with Sanyo's top shareholders including Goldman Sachs(GS Quote), Daiwa Securities , and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking about buying their shares to take control of Sanyo, the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries.

A merger of the two companies would rival Hitachi(HIT Quote) as Japan's biggest electronics maker.