Media reports this week suggest Sanyo will sign a final agreement to sell its mobile phone operations to Kyocera in the next few days, a move which would end a deal that has been ongoing since October last year. The cost of the transaction is reported to be between 45-50 billion yen, and will signify the first amalgamation of mobile phone operations between Japanese manufacturers.

Sanyo manufactures mobile phones based on CDMA technology, the same technology that local Japanese operator KDDI deploys for its network. The envisioned transaction includes sales of parts of the premises and buildings of Sanyo’s factory in Daito, Osaka Prefecture. Under the proposed deal, Kyocera is expected to take over all of Sanyo’s mobile phone operations. Kyocera will gain access to Sanyo’s marketing network in North America.