Sanyo plunges after takeover bid in Japan, Chinese developer surges

Shares in Asia closed mostly lower today with Japan's Nikkei Index falling 1.3 percent to 9,717. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent to close at 21,479, and in China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9 percent, ending the day at 3,155.

In Japan, Sanyo Electric Co. (SANYY) plunged 20 percent to 174 yen ($1.93) per share as Panasonic Corp. (PC) made an offer to buy the company at 131 yen ($1.45) a share. Panasonic hopes to acquire Sanyo, which makes rechargeable batteries and other appliances, including vending machines, and has several contracts to provide batteries for hybrid cars.