Panasonic to sell chip plants to Israeli firm: Nikkei

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Panasonic is nearing a deal to sell three domestic semiconductor plants to an Israeli company as it presses ahead with a move to cut money-losing operations, a report said Wednesday.

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The electronics giant’s shares jumped 3.90% to 1,172 yen in afternoon Tokyo trade after the Nikkei business daily said it would sell majority stakes in the three factories to chipmaker TowerJazz.

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The deal’s price tag would be determined later, it added.

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Most of the plants’ 2,500 workers will stay on after the agreement, with other members of staff transferred to different divisions within Panasonic, the Nikkei said.

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The deal could reportedly be finalised in the fiscal year to March 2014.

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Panasonic is also in talks to sell full or partial stakes in overseas chip-assembly plants to a Singaporean company, including factories in China, Indonesia and Malaysia, the leading Japanese business daily said.

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The tie-up with Nasdaq-listed TowerJazz would provide Panasonic with fresh capital while expanding the plants’ customer base and boosting production, the Nikkei said.

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In response, Panasonic said “we are making various studies on our semiconductor business strategy but nothing has been decided at the moment”.

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Panasonic is undergoing a huge restructuring aimed at repairing its balance sheet after two consecutive years of record losses.

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It has already decided to pull out of the consumer smartphone business in Japan and plasma televisions.

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The firm recently doubled its net profit forecast for the current fiscal year through March to 100 billion yen ($985 million).

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