Goldman Sachs has broken off talks with Panasonic Corp on the possible sale of Goldman's stake in Sanyo Electric after the electronics maker proposed an offer that is below the current stock price.Panasonic, the world's largest maker of plasma TVs, said earlier this month that it planned to buy smaller rival Sanyo but had not agreed on a price with Goldman and Sanyo's two other main shareholders.Shares in Panasonic were down 2.8 per cent at 1,358 yen by mid-day on Wednesday, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which fell 2 per cent. Sanyo was down 1.3 per cent at 154 yen."We have reached the decision that there is no use in carrying out negotiations based on the current offer," Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Hiroko Matsumoto said.Matsumoto said, however, that the next step is up to Panasonic, in a possible sign that talks could be revived.She declined to disclose the details of Panasonic's offer but company sources and financial sources close to the matter said Panasonic, formerly known as Matsushita Electric, has offered 120 yen for each Sanyo share, valuing the company at $7.8 billion.Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota declined to comment.To acquire Sanyo, Panasonic has to buy out its top three shareholders, Daiwa Securities SMBC, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co and Goldman Sachs, which bailed out the company in 2006.The three firms hold almost 430 million preferred shares in Sanyo, each of which can be exchanged for 10 common shares from next March. If converted, they would hold a combined 70 per cent stake.The 'Yomiuri Shimbun' newspaper said on Tuesday Goldman aims to sell its stake for about 250 yen a share.At 250 yen per share, Sanyo's market capitalization would come to 1.54 trillion yen if the preferred shares were converted, making it more than twice as valuable as its bigger and more profitable rival, Sharp Corp.The acquisition would boost Panasonic's competitiveness in rechargeable batteries and solar power equipment as demand grows rapidly for greener energy sources.Sanyo is the world's biggest maker of lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in mobile phones, laptop computers and portable music players, and the seventh-largest in solar cells behind such rivals as Sharp and Germany's Q-Cells.
