Japan’s Panasonic Corp has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell a part of its healthcare unit in a deal that could raise as much as $1 billion for the sprawling electronics conglomerate, two financial sources familiar with the deal said. Merrill Lynch will begin providing information on the sale to potential bidders by May, including private equity funds Bain Capital and Carlyle Group, the sources said on condition they were not identified. Panasonic’s president, Kazuhiro Tsuga last month said he would seek a partner “with medical knowledge and skills and capital for future growth” to invest in the healthcare unit as part of a wider company revamp to bolster profitability and shift Panasonic away from consumer electronics to supplying components and devices to other companies.
