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| Panasonic turns $30 million into $3.6 billion |
Panasonic sold all of its stake in electric car maker Tesla for 400 billion yen ($3.61 billion) in March through March to raise funds for the acquisition.
At the same time, Panasonic CEO Yuki Kusumi said that if the first production line is successful, the company plans to invest heavily in the new Tesla 4680 lithium-ion battery.
Panasonic indicated that the sale of shares is related to corporate governance and has nothing to do with its relationship with Tesla. She told the Financial Times in a statement that the goal was to review the strategic holdings in accordance with corporate governance guidelines.
"This will not affect our partnership with Tesla and we will continue to maintain a good relationship," she added.
This investment is a wise business decision. Panasonic bought 1.4 million shares of Tesla in 2010 for nearly $30 million at $21.15.
As of March 2020, she held shares worth 80.9 billion yen ($731 million). By the end of March 2021, Tesla's stock price was sixfold, and by the end of March 2021, sales were about 400 billion yen ($3.6 billion).
Proceeds from the sale will help Panasonic pay $7 billion to acquire Blue Yonder, an expert in the US supply chain.
Panasonic and Tesla:
Panasonic was the only source of Tesla batteries. But the electric car maker has recently begun developing its own batteries and is collaborating with other suppliers, including LG Chem and China's CATL.
At the same time, Panasonic recently said it is reducing its reliance on Tesla and is raising money to invest in growth and supply batteries to other global automakers.
However, Panasonic plans to continue to be an important part of Tesla's future. The company is setting up a prototype production line for Tesla's new lithium-ion battery. It was revealed during the Battery Day event.
CEO Elon Musk hopes to use it to produce a $25,000 electric car in three years with cheaper batteries.
Whether his prototype production line is working properly. Panasonic will invest heavily in the production of Tesla and other automakers.