Sanyo Sells its Cell Phone Division to Kyocera

Japan's Sanyo is selling its mobile phone business to Kyocera as part of its ongoing restructuring, the company has announced.

The deal values the unit and its assets, which includes Sanyo's CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) handset business and base station business, at ¥50 billion (US$468 million). However, the total value of the unit drops to about ¥40 billion once debts have been taken into account. The transfer is expected to take place on April 1.

As part of the agreement Kyocera will be able to use the Sanyo brand on cell phones sold in Japan and North America, Sanyo's main markets.

The two companies have been working on the deal since they signed a tentative agreement in October last year.