Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba are to merge their small and medium-sized LCD operations with government backing in the face of fierce competition from Taiwanese and Korean competitors.
$2.6bn will be put into the joint venture by the public-private-partnership Japanese body Innovation Network Corporation which will own 70% of the company. Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba will own 10% each.
The new company will take over the medium and small size display operations of the three companies.
The market for small and medium-sized displays is expected to grow rapidly due to anticipated strong demand for high resolution, high value-added products, say the companies, ‘particularly for smartphones and tablet computers, and superior high resolution display technology, in which Japanese companies are world leaders.’
‘Other small- and medium-sized display manufacturers have announced significant investment plans to try to capture this market, and appropriate measures are required in order to enhance competitiveness. ‘
This includes rationalising production and R&D facilities.
The three companies’ market shares in the small LCD market last year were: Toshiba 9.2%; Hitachi 6.3% and Sony 6%. Market leader Sharp has 15%, Samsung 12% and China’s Chimei Innolux has 12%.