Kyocera Purchases Sanyo's Mobile Phone Division for $375 Million

This morning, Kyocera announced via a press release that it has purchased Sanyo's mobile phone division for US$375 million. In the U.S., Kyocera's handsets are largely sold on Virgin Mobile, while Sanyo has historically built handsets for Sprint's network. Both manufacturers build handsets for their home Japanese market as well. Kyocera hopes that the deal will allow it to increase penetration in the U.S. and other markets.

All 2,000 Sanyo employees will be offered positions within Kyocera, and the manufacturer will continue to produce Sanyo-branded handsets. The transaction should be finalized on April 1st, the beginning of both companies' fiscal years - and we're not joking. Honest.