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Foxconn likely to become Sharp's new owner
Foxconn is now the clear favorite to buy Sharp after offering $5.5 billion for the moribund electronics firm. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Foxconn's bid was so large that it's now entering "exclusive talks" to seal the deal. Previously, the firm was running a close-second to INCJ, an investment fund backed by the Japanese government. It was hoped that INCJ would win in order to keep one of Japan's oldest electronics firms out of the hands of foreign owners. Unfortunately, it's believed that the fund offered around $2.5 billion for the loss-making maker of displays, home entertainment equipment and appliances.
Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi joint venture Japan Display fires up operations
The joint venture that is Japan Display agreed on its formalities back in November, and has now finally started operating. While Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi all have a 10 percent stake in the business, the main investment comes from the government-backed INCJ. The collaboration hopes to champion the middle- and small-sized display sector, and has around 6,200 employees, and ¥230 billion (about $2.8 billion) of capital to help it on its way. Now that the wheels are finally in motion, an announcement of its operational divisions, which include "Mobile Business" and "Automotive" hint at what we might expect from the business going forward. Assuming no one sells up that is.
Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi make joint venture official, form Japan Display Inc.
Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi officially joined forces today, cementing a government-backed joint venture that's been in the works for a few months, now. Together with the government-funded firm Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), the three manufacturers will now form an entity known as Japan Display Inc., slated to launch during the Spring of 2012. INCJ is providing the lion's share of the funding (approximately $2.6 billion), giving it a 70 percent stake in the newly formed venture. The other three, meanwhile, will each control ten percent of the company, which will encompass their respective small-display subsidiaries. The stakeholders are hoping that today's announcement will help revive their sagging display sales, with some extra help from Panasonic, which also announced that it's selling one of its biggest domestic factories to the freshly minted Japan Display, for an unnamed sum. Find more details in the full PR after the break.
