Tokyo - Japan's TDK Corp plans to purchase German electronics parts maker EPCOS AG for a maximum of 200 billion yen (1.85 billion dollars), which would be one of the largest acquisitions in the industry, media reports said Thursday.

TDK hopes to boost its operations through the deal amidst harsh competition in Asia.

TDK is to launch a friendly tender offer for EPCOS shares, which are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, to make it a subsidiary by the end of this year, Jiji Press quoted informed sources as saying.

After the acquisition, the joint business was expected to become one of the largest companies in the Japanese electronics parts industry, with annual sales projections of more than 1 trillion yen.

TDK's strengths lie in the production of magnetic heads for hard disk drives as well as in electronics parts for household appliances like cellular phones, while EPCOS' flagship products are components for industrial instruments. (dpa)