OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to transform some of its group firms into wholly owned subsidiaries as part of efforts to reorganize its group businesses and make operations more efficient, company sources said Tuesday.
The firms include listed companies Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd., Kyushu Matsushita Electric Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., as well as the unlisted firm Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems Inc., they said.
The major consumer electronics manufacturer, known for its National and Panasonic brands, is expected to swap the group firms' stocks for its own shares, turning those companies into wholly owned units, they said.
Matsushita Electric later said it is considering such plans but that nothing specific has been decided.
The company also said Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. -- a Matsushita group firm -- is not among the firms considered for reorganization under the stock swaps.
To prepare for the stock swaps, Matsushita Electric will buy back its own shares on the market as treasury stock, the sources said.
The swap ratios will be determined after taking into account the companies' market capitalizations and net assets.
Matsushita Electric has been pushing through restructuring since April; it has now decided to reorganize its group businesses as some of their operations overlap.