Panasonic Ltd. has reportedly agreed to buy Sanyo Electric Co,,Ltd., a deal that would result to the Japan's largest electronics maker, the the Nikkei business daily reported Monday. The Japanese companies are expected to aprove the deal in the end of the week in their board meetings, according to the report.

Both Panasonic and Sanyo released brief statements today saying that they had not made any official announcements regarding the issue and that nothing had been decided.

Sanyo has been struggling to turn around its business fro some years now. The company's core business has been the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries as well as digital video cameras and solar cells. The company has withdrawed from the cell phone businesses last year.