Nobuhiro Higashiiriki, chairman and CEO of Japan Display Inc., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in August 2017. | BLOOMBERG

Business / Corporate

Japan Display nears deal to raise ¥100 billion from China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese investment fund

JIJI

Japan Display Inc. is making final arrangements to procure some ¥100 billion from a China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese public-private investment fund INCJ Ltd., informed sources said Saturday.

Japan Display, a major maker of small and midsize liquid crystal displays that is now under business rehabilitation, is in negotiations with the consortium, comprising a Chinese fund and Taiwanese touch-screen manufacturer TPK Holding Co.

According to the sources, Japan Display hopes to reach a basic agreement with the consortium as early as next week. Initially, the company aimed to strike a deal within fiscal 2018.

The China-Taiwan consortium is expected to secure some 30 percent of the voting rights in Japan Display with investment totaling ¥60 billion, the sources said.

With INCJ considering additional financial assistance, Japan Display is expected to procure a total of about ¥100 billion, the sources said. INCJ is the top shareholder of Japan Display with a stake of over 25 percent at present.

The raised funds will be used mainly for debt repayment and parts procurement for the latest version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, a major revenue source for Japan Display.

If an agreement is made, Japan Display plans to build a cutting-edge organic electroluminescence panel plant in China, using assistance from the consortium.

Japan Display is expected to post a net loss for the fifth straight year in fiscal 2018, reflecting a sales slump of Apple products in China.

In 2012, Japan Display launched operations by integrating the small and midsize LCD businesses of Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Sony Corp., backed also by government assistance.

But the company is facing an extremely tough business situation due to a delay in its development of technologies related to organic electroluminescence panels.

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