Japan's JVC, Kenwood to merge in October: report

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TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese electronics maker Victor Co of Japan Ltd (JVC) and Kenwood Corp have reached a final agreement to merge on October 1 under a holding company, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The two companies, which were working out details of their merger plan, are expected to announce the accord as early as Monday, the Nikkei business daily said.

They will then seek shareholder approval at their respective general shareholders meetings in late June, the daily said.

JVC and Kenwood will be controlled by a holding company, which is expected to appoint Kenwood Chairman Haruo Kawahara as chairman, while JVC President Kunihiko Sato will become president, it said.

The JVC and Kenwood brands will be kept, it added. Their combined sales for the year ended March 31 came to around 820 billion yen (8.0 billion dollars).

Last July, JVC agreed on a capital tie-up with fellow Japanese high-tech firm Kenwood to energise JVC's electronics consumer business.