Another merger: Makita buys Panasonic’s Power Tools division.

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Hi!

Effective September 2026, Makita buys Panasonic’s Power Tool division.

Panasonic Sells Power Tools To Makita As It Refocuses Core Earnings

Panasonic Holdings (TSE:6752) is selling its power tool business to Makita. The deal marks Panasonic’s exit from a long standing product category to concentrate on electrical equipment and digital technologies. For you as an investor, this move highlights how Panasonic is reshaping its portfolio...

finance.yahoo.com

Electric Works Company of Panasonic Corporation transfers its power tools business to Makita | Management/Financials | Company | Press Releases

Electric Works Company of Panasonic Corporation transfers its power tools business to Makita

news.panasonic.com

Makita Group Announces the Acquisition of Panasonic Group’s Power Tool Business | Makita Corporation Global Site

Makita develops the power tool including rechargeable, the wood working machine, the air tool, and the gardening tool by a high quality as the comprehensive manufacturer of the power tool, and is helping the residence making with person's living in all parts of the world.

www.makita.biz

Few days old already, but I haven’t seen the information being passed on here.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Etchase]

I had one of their 4 volt screwdrivers. Worked well. I was told they were used on electronics assembly lines. Never verified that though.

 

[Davefr]

Panasonic made the best cordless drills during the NiCad/NiMH era. I thought they were already long gone from the power tool business. I'm glad Makita get's what's left.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I'm a huge Panasonic power tool fan:



These do not have the power of my more modern Makita's, but I would love if they would work together to bring out a hybrid of these two:

 

[dnschmidt]

Weirdly, since Panasonic is a leader in Lithium batteries, their power tools which were the king of the hill during the NiCad NMH period didn't keep up in the Li era. I never figured out why.

 

[mikey03]

I want a screwdriver in that style that takes m12 batteries tbh

 

[NoahG]

I want a screwdriver in that style that takes m12 batteries tbh

Same. They have that little M4 guy but that’s about it.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I never knew Panasonic made power tools. I know all the products I’ve used from them have been fantastic though.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Same. They have that little M4 guy but that’s about it.

I don't own the newest M4 Milwaukee, but I've heard it's outdated and overpriced.

The old version of this tool was made by Panasonic for Milwaukee back in the day:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[neophyte]

Panasonic made the best cordless drills during the NiCad/NiMH era. I thought they were already long gone from the power tool business. I'm glad Makita get's what's left.

Panasonic had a joint manufacturing plant in China, in collaboration with Hilti.
I’m fairly certain Panasonic, back in the day, was building the battery packs for Hilti tools, and maybe a few of the tools, but not most.
I don’t know what happened with this collaboration, although I think I saw a mention that Hilti might have bought out Panasonic’s interest in the factory.
As far as I know about the Panasonic branded power tools, I haven’t seen them on offer in the USA for a couple decades or so, and figured Panasonic might only be selling Panasonic branded tools in Japan or maybe Asia nowadays.
There might also have been more than one line of Panasonic branded tools, with Panasonic making industrial assembly tools, but dropping regular “consumer or professional” tool lines.

 

[neophyte]

Weirdly, since Panasonic is a leader in Lithium batteries, their power tools which were the king of the hill during the NiCad NMH period didn't keep up in the Li era. I never figured out why.

I think Panasonic may have been the manufacturer making lithium computer batteries, that screwed up, and supplied bad batteries to a **** load of computer brands.
I believe there were earlier batteries affected as well, since my 2008 era MacBook wound up with “puffy battery” syndrome, and I had yo buy a new battery, and I think the earlier battery was made by some division of Panasonic as well.
Having to pay for replacement battery costs, for millions of computers is going to tarnish your reputation, especially for mire expensive computers like MACs.

 

[four.cycle]

wow. huge.

 

[reader2580]

I believe there were earlier batteries affected as well, since my 2008 era MacBook wound up with “puffy battery” syndrome, and I had yo buy a new battery, and I think the earlier battery was made by some division of Panasonic as well.

Puffy batteries seem to be common across many laptops. My company was using Dell laptops until recently that almost all had swollen batteries replaced at least once. I had an older Dell company laptop that developed severe battery swelling after eight years.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Panasonic Assembly Tools Catalog NA: https://ftp.panasonic.com/assemblytool/catalog/assemblytoolscatalog.pdf

N-generic Assembly tools for handheld & automated use NA: https://ftp.panasonic.com/assemblytool/catalog/n-gineric_catalog.pdf

Bosch catered to industrial/ assembly lines as well with their “lesser known” ‘exact‘ line of tools. https://www.bosch-professional.com/de/de/industrie-akku-schrauber-exact-3201269-ocs-c/

Here’s an interesting, cool & highly affordable Panasonic ‘ball grip’ electric screwdriver: https://www.panasonic-powertools.eu...rewdriver/Cordless-Screwdriver-EY7412_p357660 runs about 50 bucks here.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Steve_P]

Count me in with the "no ideal Panasonic was still making power tools" crowd. I'm in the US and can't remember ever seeing one on the shelf anywhere.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

At least Makita isn't private equity. Them and Bosch (owned by a charity) are the two companies I'd worry the least about them taking over other tool companies.

 

[engineer2]

Makita is still family owned. Good unless elderly owners stifle innovation. I've seen it happen at places I worked for.
A neighbor was the local Panasonic rep. He had a few tools and they worked nicely, but this was 25 years ago back in the NiCad era.

 

[sparky 1971]

Count me in with the "no ideal Panasonic was still making power tools" crowd. I'm in the US and can't remember ever seeing one on the shelf anywhere.

Back around 2002ish I had a 15.6 volt NIMH Panasonic drill and to be honest, it was the best drill I had up to that point. I had been through DeWalt 12, 14.4, and 18 volts as well as a Milwaukee 12 and 14.4 volt. Then around 2008 I dropped it off the scissor lift from about 18 feet. The end. I don't think they have power tools anymore, but for a while Greenlee had a few tools that were nothing more than green Panasonics.

 

[KnurledNut]

I worked with a guy that had a Panasonic drill & impact set and they were high quality tools. But other than a better ingress rating, I wouldn't say they were noticeably better in performance or build quality than the Makita I was using at that time. We spent quite a bit of time comparing them in real world use. I do remember they were expensive and had limited distribution in the USA, both reasons I never pursued them. The limited selection of other available tools in the line was another negative.

Makita is a major player in the specialized manufacturing assembly tool market and probably a big reason they grabbed Panasonic.

This is the set my co-worker used:

 

[willf650]

I remember way back about 25-28 years ago Panasonic had a cordless drill that was constant speed, no matter the load. It was well ahead of its time.

One of the guys at work had one had one and it was by far the best cordless I had seen up until that time. I think he bought it at one of those fancy woodworking stores. They didn’t have general distribution around me.

They are more or less unheard of now in the United States

 

[American Locomotive]

I remember way back about 25-28 years ago Panasonic had a cordless drill that was constant speed, no matter the load. It was well ahead of its time.

One of the guys at work had one had one and it was by far the best cordless I had seen up until that time. I think he bought it at one of those fancy woodworking stores. They didn’t have general distribution around me.

They are more or less unheard of now in the United States

I wish modern drills had a governed "cruise control" button. It's just so hard to maintain a slow speed when trying to use a large bit. It would be great if you could pull the trigger to a certain speed, push a button, and then the drill will just regulate to that speed no matter how much you push the trigger.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

I wish modern drills had a governed "cruise control" button

Some of the Makita XGT ones have this, and I'd guess the likes of Fein would too.

I too wish it was more commonplace.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Yea, Panasonic is still very popular in Japan, here is the power tool Catalog:

電動工具総合カタログ2025 | WEBカタログ | Panasonic

esctlg.panasonic.biz

The amount of tools they offer:

 

[Toold_up]

Far right side of the lithium luneup, are those battery powered karaoke microphones?

Slightly to the left of the Li-on mics, is that a battery powered hair dryer?

Above the turbo-blow is that a battery powered Tee-Shirt launcher?


Panasonic likes to party!

 

[Steel_Rain]

Panasonic likes to party!

****'in right!

 

[BobsYourUncle69]

Count me in with the "no ideal Panasonic was still making power tools" crowd. I'm in the US and can't remember ever seeing one on the shelf anywhere.

I can't recall seeing them in South Africa either. We got everything else , Bosch , Makita , DeWalt , Hilti etc but never saw a Panasonic tool ever.

I used to like their CD players , they made some of Yamahas CD players in the 90's and those are still working probably. Although I don't like 90's STK chip equipped Technics audio equipment , their CD players were pretty good just let down by everything else on those 90's systems.

I'm curious to see when Panasonic tools will arrive at a home Depot near us and how well they will be received , just as long as makita does the batteries. I think they still make the most reliable batteries.

 

[Outahere]

Panasonic is now focused on "lifestyle solutions centered on consumer electronics".

April 1, 2026 press release:

Panasonic Corporation transitions into a new corporate framework dedicated to lifestyle solutions centered on consumer electronics | Management/Financials | Company | Press Releases

Panasonic Corporation transitions into a new corporate framework dedicated to lifestyle solutions centered on consumer electronics

news.panasonic.com

...The primary business areas include the development, manufacture, and sale of products and services in the Major Appliances Business (e.g., refrigerators, washing machines), Small Appliances Business (e.g., beauty, health, household, and cooking appliances), and AVC Business (e.g., digital cameras, TVs, headphones, video intercoms, professional AV and sound systems), as well as related devices, business solutions, and bicycles....

 

[Vinny]

Panasonic does a lot of things. Did you know they still make steel bike frames the old fashioned way? My main ride is by them. This Japanese sales person I used to work with helped me order a custom size one from their catalogue a few years ago. Built it up with all made in Japan Shimano components.

 

[Shoreline_]

Panasonic made the best cordless drills during the NiCad/NiMH era. I thought they were already long gone from the power tool business. I'm glad Makita get's what's left.

Those 15.6v drills were the best at one time.

 

[Vvmvbb]

Far right side of the lithium luneup, are those battery powered karaoke microphones?
—-snip

Rechargeable screw driver

A little like the Vessel

 

[SteadyC]

I don't own the newest M4 Milwaukee, but I've heard it's outdated and overpriced.

The old version of this tool was made by Panasonic for Milwaukee back in the day:

Pardon Our Interruption...

Just replaced my old one. MIJ. The batteries were hard to find (good ones anyway). Just got the "newer" M4.

 

[dnschmidt]

Just another example of DISTRIBUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Flex, Bosch, and Panasonic all made (or make) superior tools but without the Home Depot and Lowes nobody gives a **** because you can't buy them anywhere. Bosch makes some of the best cordless tools in the world and they are about as rare as hen's teeth.

 

[neophyte]

Just another example of DISTRIBUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Flex, Bosch, and Panasonic all made (or make) superior tools but without the Home Depot and Lowes nobody gives a **** because you can't buy them anywhere. Bosch makes some of the best cordless tools in the world and they are about as rare as hen's teeth.

Panasonic was always a weird specialty brand that had to be ordered from tool suppliers as far as I’m aware.
I don’t think I ever saw the brand in an actual physical store, even going back to the 1990s.
Panasonic, at least in the USA, probably made way more money supplying battery packs to Milwaukee, and Hilti, and maybe other brands as well, than they made actually making tools for for the construction market, although the Panasonic tools could be ordered from specialty power tool and tool suppliers.
I suspect specialty industrial buyers were one of the other markets were Panasonic made their money from power tools.
Panasonic and Hilti later built a joint tool production facility in China, and maybe there was an agreement in place that Panasonic would not compete with Hilti.

FLEX was and is a weird industrial tool brand, going back almost 100 years.
At one point, they claimed to have invented the angle grinder, although they later dropped the claim.
FLEX grinders were considered the standard for angle grinders in certain areas, enough that “Flexen” or some similar term wound up as the generic term for angle grinders.
FLEX basically made soecialty industrial grade tools for industry, as well as serving as an OEM for other brands.
Some Festool tools, were or maybe still are made by FLEX.
Porter Cable at one point owned FLEX, and used FLEX sold FLEX tools in the USA as “FLEX by Porter Cable” as well as having FLEX make certain tools such as angle Grinders that were sold with Porter Cable branding.
The FLEX industrial line still exists amongst industrial suppliers, as well as in the car detailing world, where the FLEX rotary polishers became popular.
The 24v cordless line was specifically made for Lowes and similar markets, and is different from the “Industrial” cordless line of FLEX tools, which uses an 18v battery system.

Bosch used to be readily available in the USA market, and had US production facilities where jigsaws, and routers, and angle grinders, and a bunch of other tools were made.
Bosch pulled back from the US market around the same time Amazon started selling tools.
Technically, many of the Bosch tools were still available, but nowhere near as readily.
At the time, I thought this might be due to price competition, or the power tool market bring fluid enough that Bosch decided to pill back to see where things went.
The Bosch pullback from the market however also corresponded to Festool becoming one of the major “Pro Brands” so I honestly sort of wonder if there might have bedn dome agreement amongst the two German brands to let give Festool a shot.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Flex

I think FLEX is going to find that lacking a bricks and mortar location is going to sink that ship.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Just another example of DISTRIBUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Flex, Bosch, and Panasonic all made (or make) superior tools but without the Home Depot and Lowes nobody gives a **** because you can't buy them anywhere. Bosch makes some of the best cordless tools in the world and they are about as rare as hen's teeth.

It's also possible or even likely that the brands don't give a **** either - about me, you, retail customers, certain industries, or certain countries. I'm not slating anyone but companies do choose markets to go after.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

It seems Hilti wants to buy out “their” assets from the joint venture they had going with Panasonic in Shanghai - before Makita takes over.

It’s only because of Austrian law this had actually to be disclosed there, and so far it is the only source for this.

https://www.bwb.gv.at/en/merger_control/merger/7421

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Davefr]

Just another example of DISTRIBUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Flex, Bosch, and Panasonic all made (or make) superior tools but without the Home Depot and Lowes nobody gives a **** because you can't buy them anywhere. Bosch makes some of the best cordless tools in the world and they are about as rare as hen's teeth.

...not when there's Amazon. I can't think of any name brand tools that I've bought recently at B&M.

 

[Under_Pressure]

It seems Hilti wants to buy out “their” assets from the joint venture they had going with Panasonic in Shanghai - before Makita takes over.

It’s only because of Austrian law this had actually to be disclosed there, and so far it is the only source for this.

https://www.bwb.gv.at/en/merger_control/merger/7421

Kind regards,
Olli

Makes sense I guess, Makita would seem to be much more of a direct competitor to Hilti in some of their core markets than Panasonic. They both go after the heavy construction segment pretty hard.

 

[Firebrick43]

Just another example of DISTRIBUTION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. Flex, Bosch, and Panasonic all made (or make) superior tools but without the Home Depot and Lowes nobody gives a **** because you can't buy them anywhere. Bosch makes some of the best cordless tools in the world and they are about as rare as hen's teeth.

You just need Menards there in Arizona. They are the third largest in the US and carry Bosch