Thursday April 23, 08:30 AM
Japan's Pioneer seeks Honda's help, says official
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Pioneer (Stuttgart: 857040 - news) has asked Honda Motor (Paris: JP3854600008 - news) for financial support, a spokesman said Thursday amid reports that the automaker is poised to take an equity stake in the struggling electronics firm.
"We have consulted (with Honda) on what cooperation we could get to enhance our financial base," Pioneer Corp. spokesman Akio Ohmachi said, adding that nothing definite had been decided.
Honda Motor Co. also said it had been in consultations with Pioneer but no decisions have been made.
The Nikkei daily said on Thursday that Honda was finalising plans to invest several billion yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) in Pioneer, which controls some 30 percent of Japan's car navigation systems market.
The boards of Honda and Pioneer are expected to approve plans this month for a capital tie-up, with the goal of inking an agreement soon, the newspaper said.
Pioneer said in February that it would cut 10,000 jobs worldwide and quit the television business to focus on car electronics.
It also said Wednesday that it may seek an injection of public funds under a government-sponsored scheme designed to help companies struggling in the fallout of the global financial crisis.
If Honda decides to acquire common stock of Pioneer, the automaker could become a major shareholder with an interest of around five percent, the Nikkei (news) said.
Japanese electronics giant Sharp Corp. is currently Pioneer's top stockholder with a 14.3 percent stake.
Investing in Pioneer could give Honda an opportunity to develop new services that use its technology, the Nikkei said.
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
