Sony halts investment in LCD joint venture with Sharp
updated 08:35 pm EDT, Wed March 28, 2012
Companies amend partnership agreement
Sony and Sharp have announced that they have amended their partnership agreement for the joint venture known as Sharp Display Productions Corporation (SDP). Although the companies had been considering further investment, primarily involving new funds provided by Sony, the plans appear to have been put on hold amid uncertainty surrounding Sharp's operations.
The companies have also agreed to extend a new "study" period, through the end of September, to determine "the future direction of the joint venture." Sony has also reserved the right to sell back to Sharp its current seven-percent stake in SDP.
Full reasons for the amendment have yet to be publicly disclosed, though Foxconn subsidiary Hon Hai Group recently moved to buy a 46.5 percent stake in Sharp's LCD production operations in Sakai, Japan. Reports circulating nearly a year ago also suggested that an oversupply in the LCD market and strength of the Japanese yen had reduced the benefits for Sony to expand the partnership. [via Engadget]
