Satellite navigation maker Pioneer on Friday said it would delay issuing new shares to key customer Honda Motor because it is in talks with other potential additional financial partners.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Pioneer, in its sixth straight year of annual loss, plans to raise JPY40bn ($414 million) to shore up its financial standing, and has also said it is preparing to apply for public funds available to companies hit by the global financial crisis.
According to Reuters, the struggling consumer electronics firm did not elaborate on the talks, but it said Honda was still willing to buy JPY2.5bn’s worth of new shares but the issue will be postponed to an unspecified time after being originally scheduled for the end of this month.
Honda agreed in April to buy the shares for 170 yen each in a capital boost to help Pioneer focus on auto electronics. But Pioneer’s shares have since risen along with a broad rise in equities markets.
The April deal would have given Honda a 6.5% stake in Pioneer, making it the second-largest shareholder behind LCD TV and solar panel maker Sharp.
Pioneer’s home electronics operations have been hurt by fierce competition with larger rivals such as Samsung Electronics, and its car electronics division was hit by slumping car sales amid the global financial crisis. It expects a net loss of JPY83bn for the current financial year to March 2010, the report said.
