Panasonic agreed to buy the stake from Clayton Dubilier & Rice, said the people, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media on the matter.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought the stake from industrial conglomerate Ingersoll-Rand PLC in 2011.
After exiting unprofitable product lines in smartphones, plasma television sets and semiconductors, Panasonic has been shifting to growth areas such as automotive and advanced technologies that earn higher profit margins.
Panasonic officials were not immediately available to comment.