Reports: Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba in LCD talks
Sony and Toshiba were already in talks with Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), a predominantly state-owned investment fund to merge their LCD operations, the reports state.
Hitachi had been negotiating the sale of a majority stake in its small-LCD business to contract electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan, otherwise known as Foxconn, according to a Financial Times report. INCJ being prepared to inject more than a billion dollars in Japanese LCD manufacturing may explain Hitachi’s desire to get involved in a Japanese joint venture.
If agreement is reached the INCJ may double its previous investment plan and provide 200 billion yen (about $2.5 billion) for a 70 percent stake in the super-company with Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba dividing the remaining 30 percent between them.
The three companies are expected to reach an agreement in July, a Reuters report said.
The moves are seen as an attempt to prevent mistakes made in the past with regard to large-size LCDs for televisions. Japan largely lost out in this market because manufacturing was split between numerous Japanese consumer electronics companies.
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