Panasonic to buy US-based Hussmann for USD 1.5 bln

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said today it would buy Hussmann, a US-based food refrigeration systems company, for USD 1.54 billion as part of its drive to expand in the US food retail sector.
Panasonic said in a statement that the purchase would help it to increase its business for freezer display cases in the US - the world's biggest market for the product - as well as to areas near the giant economy and markets farther away such as Australia and New Zealand.
Calling the deal a "strategic acquisition", Osaka-based Panasonic said the purchase would combine the US company's excellence in customer service and maintenance with Panasonic technology.

"Panasonic will use this synergy to drive growth and further innovation on a global basis," it said.
The purchase will be completed in April 2016, making the US firm a wholly owned subsidiary, Panasonic said.
The Hussmann brand and the current management will remain at the firm, Panasonic said.
Major Japanese companies have been rushing to buy foreign firms as a way to secure future growth.
The Japanese domestic market has faced chronically weak consumption, and the nation's shrinking population has posed a threat to Japan's growth prospects.