22nd January - Struggling Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. said Monday it has decided to sell its mobile phone production unit to precision equipment maker Kyocera Corp.

The two electronics companies have said the value of the business to be transferred is about 40 billion yen, or about $385 million (Canadian). Including debt, the deal – set for completion April 1 – is worth about 50 billion yen, although the companies have yet to agree on a final transaction price.

Sanyo, which has operations in Canada, started making mobile phones in 1994 and has supplied several key mobile-phone carriers with their products..

The long-anticipated sale comes months after Goldman Sachs and other investors saved Sanyo in a $2.9 billion (U.S.) bailout.

Under yesterday's agreement, about 2,000 employees in Sanyo's mobile-phone operation will be transferred to Kyocera, which will continue to use the Sanyo brand.