Skip to main content

Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba merging LCD businesses

Japan Display K.K. (Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba)
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba have announced an agreement (PDF) which will see them divest themselves of their small- and medium-sized LCD display businesses to a government-backed fund, with the result being a merged business called Japan Display K.K., due to be formalized early next year. The combined firm will be be 70 percent owned by the Japanese government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ).

“This is a landmark project for INCJ in our mission to make impactful, long-term and hands-on investments to grow next-generation businesses worldwide in the spirit of open innovation,” said INCJ president and CEO Kimikazu Noumi, in a statement. “The new company will become a leading small- and medium-sized display manufacturer, and by pooling compelling technological know-how, will be positioned to win in a competitive and lucrative global growth market that has a real impact on the quality of people’s everyday lives.”

Recommended Videos

The combined firm may well be the largest maker of LCD displays for products like mobile phones, cameras, media players, tablet devices, game systems, and even some notebook computers, and may help Japan’s LCD industry better compete against the like of Samsung and Taiwan’s Innolux. Funds from INCJ will be used to construct new production lines and hire external managers. Japan Display plans to eventually go public, eying an initial public offering by 2016.

According to DisplaySearch, Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba together account for about 22 percent of the market for small- and medium-sized LCD displays, although both Sony and Hitachi are actually losing money on the business—Toshiba manages to staunch losses during its most recent fiscal quarter. Sharp—which is Japan’s largest maker of LCDs—plans to get into the small- and medium-sized display market seriously next month. South Korea’s Samsung has also just announced plans to cut back on TV-sized panel production to focus more effort on small- to medium-sized panels.

Japan Display K.K. marks the the largest venture launched by INCJ since it was founded in mid 2009. One of Japan’s response to several years of relative economic stagnation, INCJ can invest as much as 900 billion yen (about US $10 billion) from the Japanese government and private companies to foster innovation and jump-start new business growth.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
I have a theory on how the PS5 Pro could actually outclass PCs
The PS5 Pro suspended in air.

Without a doubt, the PlayStation 5 Pro is the most powerful game console we've ever seen. It's set to launch next week, promising "45% faster rendering" on the back of a beefier graphics card and faster memory. It won't be enough to outclass a proper gaming desktop packing one of the best graphics cards -- not even close. But the PS5 Pro could have an edge over PCs in one area.

I say "could" because we really don't know. AMD pointed me to Sony, and Sony hasn't returned my request for comment about the specifics under the hood of the PS5 Pro. I have some hints, however, and if you'll indulge a little speculation, I have some interesting theories about how the PS5 Pro might have an edge over even powerful gaming PCs.
The PS5 Pro's secret weapon

Read more
Intel Battlemage GPU: everything we know so far
Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

Despite a rocky start, Intel's Arc GPUs are now among the best graphics cards you can buy. Targeting budget PC gamers, Intel has established itself as a major player in gaming graphics cards, and all eyes are on Team Blue with its next generation of GPUs, codenamed Battlemage.

We know Battlemage GPUs are coming, and Intel has slowly been dropping hints about the graphics cards over the past year. Although we're still waiting on an official release date, specs, and pricing details for Battlemage GPUs, there's a lot we can piece together already.
Intel Battlemage: specs

Read more
Spotify vs. Pandora: which streaming service should you choose?
spotify vs pandora on iphone

Let's settle a musical debate: which music streaming platform should you use: Spotify or Pandora?

Both services have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Spotify boasts a more extensive music catalog, robust social features for sharing and discovering music with friends, and a more polished user experience across devices.

Read more