Matsushita Electric Industrial Co and Kenwood Corp yesterday denied reports of a possible sale of Matsushita's stake in electronics maker JVC to Kenwood.
Japan's largest business newspaper, Nihon Keizai, yesterday reported that Matsushita, which has a 52.4 percent stake in Victor Company of Japan Ltd, widely known as JVC, plans to sell its stake to audio-maker Kenwood. Kyodo News agency carried a similar report.
Matsushita plans to sell at least half of the JVC shares it owns and lower its stake to 20 percent before its shareholder meeting in June, Nikkei reported, without citing sources. About 30 percent of JVC's shares would be worth ?45 billion (US$380 million), the newspaper said.
PHOTO: AFP
However, both Matsushita, known globally for its Panasonic brand products, and Kenwood said that nothing had been decided.
Matsushita said in a statement that it "has not decided anything in regards to the sale of its stake in Victor Company of Japan Ltd." Kenwood also said no decision had been made.
Matsushita spokesman Akira Kadota refused to comment on whether the company is considering selling its stake in JVC. He also refused to comment on whether the company is in talks with Kenwood.
Kadota acknowledged that JVC is the only Matsushita subsidiary which is in the red. "There are many options, and a sell-off is one of them," he said.
However, he said Osaka-based Matsushita also hopes that JVC's management would improve on its own and would closely watch JVC's business ahead of its earnings report to be released in March.
Nikkei and Kyodo also reported that there was a second proposal under which JVC would acquire its shares from Matsushita through a management buyout. US investment fund Cerberus was expected to provide the capital for the purchase under that proposal, the reports said.
JVC and Cerberus officials were expected to propose the plan to Matsushita as early as tomorrow, Nikkei said.
JVC, the pioneer of VHS-format videocassette recorders, was once a strong player in consumer electronics but its earnings have tapered off because of mounting competition in the audiovisual market.
Kenwood wants to use the Victor brand to strengthen its own video and audio product lineup, Kyodo said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
RSS