Panasonic views sub market price for Sanyo

Panasonic Corperation is considering offering a below-market price of about ¥120 per share in Sanyo Electric Co. as it goes ahead with its plan to turn its smaller rival into a subsidiary through a tender offer, sources said Tuesday. That offer is much lower than the ¥156 Sanyo stock fetched Tuesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the ¥250 per share Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of Sanyo's three major creditor institutions, is believed to be holding out for. Whereas companies conducting tender offers usually buy shares in their investment targets at a premium to market value, Panasonic's possible offer reflects its fear of a considerable fall in Sanyo's stock price, the sources say.