With the prospects of the financially-battered Japan Display (JUI) to safe new sources of funds within the Japanese market turning into dim after the corporate reported its fifth consecutive yearly web loss for fiscal 2018 just lately, Suwa Investment Holdings, a consortium fashioned by Taiwan- and China-based firms, is prone to change into a serious shareholder of JDI via a conditional bailout deal, Digitimes Research believes.
If the deal is finalized, the injection of recent funds from Suwa would allow JDI to ramp up its manufacturing of OLED panels utilizing an evaporation course of that can assist the agency improve its presence within the automotive panel market and its capacity to seize OLED panel orders for Apple’s smartwatches and different cell gadgets.
JDI was initially one of many main suppliers of LTPS TFT LCD panels for the manufacturing of Apple’s iPhone gadgets. However, the rise of China’s flat panel business, growing market competitors and Apple’s shift to utilizing OLED panels since 2018 have mixed to convey the misfortune to JDI.
In response to a prospect that Apple may start to undertake OLED panels for all of iPhone gadgets from 2020, JDI has arrange a trial 6G OLED line utilizing an evaporation course of. Since the corporate is a latecomer to the OLED panel section as in comparison with Samsung Display and the danger is excessive for the necessity to commit excessive investments, JDI has discovered itself in difficulties attempting to safe new funds from INCJ, Sony and different shareholders.
If JDI’s restructuring plans meet the necessities of the potential investor Suwa, members of the consortium, together with Taiwan’s contact panel maker TPK Holding and China’s Harvest Tech Investment Management are prone to ink cooperation agreements with JDI for the manufacturing of LCD and OLED panels.
Leveraging JDI’s main market place within the automotive LCD panel sector, the joint efforts by the consortium and JDI will assist them step into the automotive OLED panel section and safe a big chunk of contact panel orders for Apple’s cell gadgets.
