Panasonic Corp., one of Japan’s many floundering electronics manufacturers, is reported to have completed sales of two main office buildings in central Tokyo in order to raise around $100 million to go towards its balance sheet. Sources with direct knowledge confirmed the sale with Reuters, meaning that Panasonic is continuing its efforts to raise 130 billion yen (approx. $1.4 billion) in cash by shedding non-core assets.
While the transactions haven’t yet been made public, the unnamed sources specified that Panasonic’s five-story building in Tokyo’s Minato Ward went to Mitsubishi Estate Co., and a second eight-story office property in the same area of the Japanese capital was sold to Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc. The Osaka-based company is also said to be considering the sale of its Tokyo headquarters, a much larger office building that houses around 2,000 employees, in Tokyo’s Shiodome district.
Panasonic isn’t the only Japanese tech giant selling significant property. Sony has already revealed the sales of both its U.S. headquarters in New York City and its landmark Tokyo building for $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. Both companies have large debts to pay off and continue to struggle with massive financial losses over the last year. Panasonic seems to be taking advantage of a time when Tokyo properties are becoming more attractive to investors on the bet that their values will rise in the near future.
[via Chicago Tribune]