Panasonic and KKR complete share purchase agreement

Panasonic Corporation ("Panasonic") and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the completion of a share purchase agreement and a shareholders' agreement under which Panasonic and KKR have become joint partners of Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd. ("Panasonic Healthcare").

Panasonic and KKR will cooperate in supporting the growth of Panasonic Healthcare, leveraging their respective business resources, including their healthcare industry knowledge, technology, and specialist expertise, as well as KKR's global healthcare industry investment experience and network. KKR and Panasonic now own 80% and 20%, respectively, of Panasonic Healthcare through Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd.

Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga said, "We understand KKR has been actively investing in the expanding healthcare sector, and we highly respect KKR's industry expertise and its capability to provide the necessary growth capital and operational know-how, in preparation for the future development of Panasonic Healthcare in the global healthcare industry."

Commenting on the closing, KKR's Co-Founder and Co-CEO Henry Kravis said, "We are pleased to have successfully completed this transaction and we look forward to working together with our new partners over the long term to support the realization of Panasonic Healthcare's significant growth potential. Panasonic Healthcare is a world-class company and we intend to work together to make it an even better company. Japan is a very important and attractive market for KKR, and our experienced team on the ground in Japan will leverage KKR's global expertise and experience to make this a highly successful partnership."

Panasonic Healthcare President Kenji Yamane said, "Today marks the next stage in the growth and evolution of Panasonic Healthcare. KKR has built long-term relationships with its portfolio companies around the world, and I am delighted for their support as our new partner as we pursue growth in the medium and long term. We will be working closely with KKR in Japan and globally to accelerate growth by building out our global sales channels to major overseas healthcare facilities, and delivering high quality products and services to customers around the world."