A government-backed fund is considering asking Hitachi Ltd. to join the envisaged alliance of white goods businesses currently possessed by scandal-hit Toshiba Corp. and struggling Sharp Corp., sources said.
The participation of industrial conglomerate Hitachi would create a major player in the white goods business with combined sales of ¥1.2 trillion on a par with Panasonic Corp.
The plan being floated by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan would help the alliance boost investment in new technologies being promoted under the concept of the "Internet of Things," which refers to a push to network various kinds of devices, and compete with rivals in China and South Korea.