Apr. 28, 2008 – A Japanese media report claiming Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is buying Sanyo Electric Co. is untrue, say the two companies — but that hasn’t stopped speculation in various media outlets.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the tie-up, seen as a way to rescue both companies “from a long business slump,” would involve selling shares from three Sanyo investors (Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking), said to amount to two-thirds ownership. For Matsushita, the paper speculated, the move would give access to Sanyo’s technical expertise in areas such as rechargeable batteries and other products; for Sanyo the tie-up would speed up a rebuilding effort. The two also were said to be considering how to integrate management.

But today, both Matsushita and Sanyo deny any talks have happened or will. “These reports are not based on any official announcement by MEI, and there is no fact that MEI is considering on the alliance,” said Matsushita in a statement. Sanyo’s version dismissed the rumors of a possible merger as “untrue.”

That didn’t stop investors from voicing their opinion on such a combination. Share trading for both companies was temporarily suspended on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange, but will restart the next day.