Tokyo - The Japanese electronics company Panasonic Corp on Thursday began its planned takeover of the battery manufacturer Sanyo Electric Co Ltd.

The world's largest producer of consumer electronics started its bid for the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries with the aim of acquiring more than 50 per cent of Sanyo's shares.

Panasonic is offering 131 yen (98 cents) per share for stock that traded Thursday at 172 yen.

But Panasonic is sure the deal, which runs until December 7, would succeed because Sanyo's three largest shareholders, which include Goldman Sachs, have already agreed to it.

Panasonic is reckoning on a total cost of at least 400 billion yen.

The friendly takeover, planned for more than a year, would threaten Hitachi's status as the largest electronics business in Japan in terms of sales.

Sanyo is the world's largest producer of lithium-ion batteries for personal computers and mobile phones and is strong in the solar cells business.

Panasonic is undergoing restructuring and sees itself on the road to recovery, forecasting lower losses this business year than previously expected.(dpa)