Toshiba, Sony mull small LCD panel tie-up: report

TOKYO: Major Japanese electronics firms Toshiba and Sony are in talks on unifying operations in small LCD panels for hot-selling smartphones and tablet computers, a report said Tuesday.

The two companies would set up a new entity expected to overtake Japanese rival Sharp as the world's top manufacturer of small and medium-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the Nikkei business daily said.

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a public-private fund set up in 2009 to promote innovative businesses, would put up more than 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) for the new company, the paper said without naming its sources.

The money would be used to build new manufacturing lines in Japan, it said, adding the investment would give the fund a stake of 70-80 percent in the new company with Sony and Toshiba expected to hold the remaining stake.

Toshiba and Sony are currently in the final stage of negotiations on the alliance and aim to reach a basic accord by the end of June, it said.

No immediate comment on the report was available from Toshiba.

A Sony spokesman said "no decision has been made at the moment" on the reported alliance and withheld further comment.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011