Tis the season for mergers and acquisitions, apparently: Sanyo has just been acquired by Panasonic for a staggering $4.6 billion for a 50.2% stake in the company, according to a post from TheStreet a few minutes ago:

Panasonic purchased its stake in Sanyo for £2.8 billion or $4.6 billion, offering 131 yen or about $1.50 for each common Sanyo share bought, generating a significant profit for its three primary shareholders: Goldman Sachs(GS Quote), Daiwa Securitiesand Sumitomo Mitsui.

Panasonic first announced its interest in pursuing Sanyo 13 months ago, mostly enticed by Sanyo’s hybrid car battery operations, say analysts, a strong suit for both companies.

The completion of the 50.2% stake in Sanyo has created one of the top providers of batteries for fuel efficient cars. Together, Panasonic and Sanyo’s battery businesses generated Â¥745.8 billion, or about $8.4 billion in sales last year.

Based on the current stock price of $9.50 a share (which has remained fairly steady for the last month or so), it’s interesting that the buyout price is so low.

Expect more on this later as we have time to process and more news emerges.