Three major lenders for Japan Display Inc. plan to extend their credit deadlines again to bolster the struggling display-maker's financing as a rescue plan from new investors has yet to be finalized, sources close to the matter said Friday.
Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank plan to extend the expiry of their loans, totaling ¥107 billion ($980 million), from Dec. 30 to March 31. The state-backed fund, INCJ Ltd., will provide a guarantee for the loans, the sources said.
The plan comes as the ailing panel manufacturer continues its efforts to secure stable financing, after China's Harvest Tech Management withdrew in September from a previous bailout plan.
The deadline was previously extended in July from August to December.
Japan Display has said it aimed to procure a total of ¥50 billion, including $200 million from major client Apple Inc. and up to $180 million from Hong Kong's Oasis Management Co., by the end of November, but it has yet to announce a finalized bailout plan.
Separately, in November, the display firm announced that a former executive of its accounting department embezzled some ¥578 million over four years from 2014 and was dismissed last December.
The former executive, who was found dead late last month in an apparent suicide, had notified the company of improper accounting in past earnings separate to the embezzlement, prompting the company to start an internal probe over previous earnings results.
Japan Display reported a group net loss for the fiscal first half of ¥108.67 billion, widening its negative net worth to ¥101.6 billion as of the end of September.
The Japanese display-maker was established in 2012 following the merger of the display operations of Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. with support from INCJ.