Panasonic today confirmed plans to purchase fellow Japanese electronics manufacturer, Sanyo.

The acquisition, which is being valued at around $8.8 billion, would create the largest consumer electronics company in that country, surpassing Hitachi and becoming number two in the world, behind General Electric.

"Adverse business conditions are making it difficult for us to achieve the kind of growth we have been striving for," Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo told Reuters at a news conference. "We need a new growth engine within our group."