(Yicai) Dec. 13 -- Skyworth Group is negotiating with Funai Electric for the Japanese consumer electronics firm's television business, according to a source close to the Chinese home appliance giant.

It is still uncertain whether Skyworth will ultimately agree to purchase Funai Electric's TV business because it has contacted many manufacturers, the source told Yicai yesterday.

Funai Electric filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo on Oct. 24 due to long-term losses, with the Osaka-based company having around JPY46.1 billion (USD301.2 million) in liabilities.

Funai Electric has an exclusive Funai-branded TV supply deal with leading consumer electronics retailer Yamada Denki in Japan and Philips-branded TV business in the US, selling hundreds of thousands of TVs in the two countries a year, Zhang Bing, research director of Omdia China, said to Yicai. Its global share in the TV market of over 200 million annual sales is less than 1 percent, Zhang added.

Skyworth's TV sales rank among the top six globally and the top four in China. Its net profit was CNY384 million (USD52.8 million) in the first half of this year, with a turnover of CNY30.2 billion (USD4.1 billion).

The potential acquisition of Funai Electric's TV business in Japan and the US will help Skyworth expand its independent brand and influence overseas, Zhang pointed out.

In 2015, Skyworth bought German high-end TV manufacturer Metz.

Editor: Martin Kadiev