Samsung Electronics has decided to buy out Sony’s entire stake in their Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) joint venture S-LCD
The Korean electronics maker “Samsung Electronics” said it will pay Sony 1.08 trillion won ($939m; £600m) in cash for Sony’s entire stake (50% – 1 shares) in S-LCD Corp., a venture formed in 2004 to make TV panels. After acquisition, Samsung Electronics’ stake in S-LCD will be 100%.
The move comes as Sony has been restructuring its TV business, which has been making a loss for the past several years.
Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, is the world’s largest maker of TVs and flat screen panels.
The strategic partnership between Samsung Electronics and Sony will continue via long-term supply agreement of LCD panels, as agreed by the two companies.
Details of the transaction are as follows:
– No. of shares to be acquired: 329,999,999 shares
– Total value of shares: Approx. KRW 1,082,218 million
– Contract signing date: December 26, 2011
– Expected transaction date: January 19, 2012
About S-LCD
S-LCD, as of April 25 2008, operated with a monthly production capacity of 100,000 7th generation amorphous silicon (a-Si) panels and 50,000 8th generation panels based on PVA technology, which are integrated into both Samsung Electronics and Sony LCD televisions and mobile phones. Some other manufacturers, such as HTC, use S-LCD screens. S-LCD originally had production facilities in both Japan and South Korea however due to rising costs and an increasing demand from the Latin American market S-LCD opened production facilities in Baja California, Mexico where both Samsung and Bravia have large LCD production facilities.
