Japan Display is acquiring JOLED a Panasonic-Sony OLED company.

Deal will join Japan's two remaining display panel makers.

Japan Display is acquiring Joled, an OLED panel maker created through the merger of Panasonic's and Sony's operations, in a bid to better compete against South Korean and Chinese players by bringing Japan's display technology under one roof.

Japan Display will raise its stake in Joled from 15% to over 50% by the end of 2017 through stock purchases from the state-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, which now owns 75% of the venture. The deal's value is expected to top $100 million. Panasonic and Sony each own 5% of Joled.

Japan Display will also receive 75 billion yen ($650 million) from INCJ, its leading shareholder, in order to grow both the liquid crystal display and organic light-emitting diode businesses. The assistance will come as a combination of subordinated and convertible bonds so the company has greater flexibility to expand output capacity and make other moves.

Japan Display mainly produces high-quality LCDs for use in smartphones, car monitors and computers, while Joled is known for its midsize-to-large OLED panels. By joining the duo's research and development and sales operations, Japan Display aims to be able to provide both types of panels depending on its clients' needs.

Joled was founded in January 2015. It is developing a process for mass-producing cheap OLED panels for TVs, in addition to medical and other industrial uses.

Japan Display was created in 2012 through a merger of Hitachi's, Toshiba's and Sony's panel operations. It is struggling to cut costs and posted its second straight annual net loss in fiscal 2015. Sluggish demand for the iPhone, which accounts for half of Japan Display's sales, has also resulted in cash-flow problems since the spring. The Tokyo-based display maker hopes to boost its creditworthiness by cutting its dependence on smartphone panels and receiving financial assistance from INCJ.

Japanese companies led technological advances in LCDs, OLEDs and other display panels. But rivals in South Korea and Taiwan have nimbly increased output capacity since the 2000s, driving many Japanese players out of the business.

With Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry acquiring Sharp in August, Japan Display and Joled are effectively the only two Japanese panel makers left in the industry. Japan Display hopes to gain a competitive edge by joining hands with Joled with support from INCJ.

Japan Display Inc. Announces Mass Production of 2nd Generation PIXELS EYES LCD modules for Premium Mobile Products.

Press Release:

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) today announced the start of mass production start of 2nd generation "Pixel Eyes" LCD modules for premium mobile products, which require high performance.

"Pixel Eyes" modules are products incorporating JDI's proprietary technology which integrates touch functionality in the display. By adopting new sensor structure and new materials, we have achieved thinner borders, deep black level, and the ability to smoothly input characters and graphics with a finer stylus, as narrow as 1mm in width. The new 2nd generation "Pixel Eyes" display even operates with wet fingers. Furthermore, compared to other alternative in-cell touch technologies, JDI’s advanced technology makes it much easier to achieve higher resolution and realize larger size panels up to as large as 16-inch class.

JDI's furthering evolution of "Pixel Eyes" will continue to contribute to our customers' mobile product development. We will continue to offer attractive display products featuring advanced technologies, based on our core low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) technology.

【Features of 2nd generation EyesTM】
	1st Generation	2nd Generation
Side border width	0.8mm	0.5mm
Passive stylus	Supports ≧ 2.0mm φ	Supports ≧ 1.0mm φ
Display size	Up to 6-inch class	Up to 16-inch class

Related post: iPhone 7 may arrive with WATERPROOF DISPLAY

iPhone 7 may arrive with WATERPROOF DISPLAY

Japan Display is a currently supplier of LCD displays for Apple`s iPhones. The news are Japan Display has developed the most advanced LCD display for phones : the second generation of its Pixel Eyes LCD modules, allowing slimmer bezels and the ability to function with wet fingers. 

The original Pixel Eyes modules are recognized for putting touch functionality directly into the display. The updated models make use of new materials, along with a new sensor structure, resulting in a decrease of bezel width from 0.8mm to 0.5mm. This is combined with the display's ability to recognize stylus input as narrow as 1mm, allowing more details in writing or drawing applications. The other big feature of the LCD module is that it can still accept touch input from wet fingers, something that is rare in smartphones today due to water's tendency to mess with capacitive sensors. This is also something that would surely be required for a smartphone to live up to "waterproof" claims.

The Japanese company says production and shipments in volume will begin this quarter, which could align perfectly with Apple's usual plans of increased iPhone production during the summer months in this case for the iPhone 7.

There have been rumors suggesting Apple and Japan Display have partnered up for a $1.7 billion display plant to produce screens for iPhones in 2016, so it's not out of the question that we'll see Japan Display screens in the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7s.

slashgear via macrumor