James Delahunty
24 May 2012 6:14
Sony exits LCD panel venture.
It announced that it will sell back all 7 percent of the stake in Sharp Display Products Corp, walking away from the joint venture after breaking even on its investment.
Sony is moving away from investing in the production of LCD panels, and opting instead to buy them from suppliers. It's TV division is responsible for enormous losses, as Sony has had serious woes in the market for flat-planel televisions the past several years.
Now with a new CEO in charge, Kazuo Hirai, Sony is seeking to stem losses and turn its fortunes around. In the TV business, it will buy its panels from other manufacturers and focus on its own technology to differentiate it from others in the market.
It also recently ended a flat-panel venture with South Korean consumer electronics giant, Samsung.