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File photo shows the headquarters of Japanese electronics giant Sony in Tokyo in 2009. Sony has agreed to sell its stake in a joint liquid crystal display panel venture in South Korea to its partner Samsung Electronics, the two companies said Monday.
Photo: AFP
Japanese electronics giant Sony has agreed to sell its stake in a joint liquid crystal display panel venture in South Korea to its partner Samsung Electronics, the two companies said Monday.
Samsung will acquire all of Sony's stake in S-LCD Corp., making it a wholly owned subsidiary of the Korean company, they said in a statement.
The Asian electronics giants have worked together since the 1990s in the semiconductor and LCD fields.
They established S-LCD in South Korea in 2004 to jointly produce LCD panels mainly used for televisions. Samsung had a stake of 50 percent plus one share with Sony holding the remainder.
For its share transfer which will close by the end of January, Sony will receive 1.08 trillion won (US$939 million), the statement said.
Sony is increasingly relying on other manufacturers for the key TV component as LCD panel prices continue to slide due to a supply glut.
The two companies have also agreed to enter into a new strategic agreement for the supply and purchase of LCD panels.
The new deal will help Sony secure a "flexible and steady supply" of LCD panels, based on market prices and without the cost of operating a manufacturing facility, the statement said.
Samsung expects "heightened flexibility, speed and efficiency in both panel production and business operations", it said.
