Monday, January 10, 2005
Sony Corp. has agreed to purchase an LCD production facility from the Japanese subsidiary of Chi Mei Optoelectronics of Taiwan.
The companies concluded talks on Friday (Jan. 7), reaching a basic agreement for Sony to purchase the facility.
By March, Chi Mei will spin off its Yasu plant in Shiga Prefecture as a new company. Sony will then purchase all of its stock for about ¥18.5 billion (about $178 million).
Toyota Industries Corp., which is Sony's low-temperature polysilicon LCD partner, will also take a stake in the new company.
With completion of the acquisition, Sony will take over the production facility and its 420 employees at the Yasu plant, which has a third-generation LCD line that employs 550- x 650-mm substrates. Sony said it plans to convert the facility into its second low-temperature polysilicon LCD production base.
Sony said it would invest about ¥27 billion (about $260 million) in the plant, creating a production capacity of 25,000 substrates per month by April 2006.
Chi Mei will concentrate on larger LCD panels. The company owns LCD lines from 3.5, 4th to 5th generation manufacturing in Taiwan, and a new 5.5 generation line will begin operation in the first quarter of 2005.
By: DocMemory
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