Sharp intends to take over JDI's Hakusan plant business

With the help of Apple, Sharp, a subsidiary of Foxconn, is negotiating with Japan Display Inc. (JDI), a Japanese small and medium-sized LCD panel manufacturer that is undergoing operational reconstruction. Sharp intends to acquire JDI's Hakusan factory. JDI revealed on the 25th that before selling the Hakusan factory, it intends to sell some of the Hakusan factory's production equipment first, and the buyer is reportedly Apple.

Nikkei, Jiji Press and Yomiuri Shimbun reported that JDI President Minoru Kikuoka hinted at an extraordinary shareholders meeting held on the 25th that some equipment at the Hakusan plant would be sold before selling the Hakusan plant.

Kikuoka pointed out that a basic agreement has been reached with a major customer on the sale of some production equipment at the Hakusan factory. Kikuoka did not specify who the major customer is, but according to Japanese media, the major customer is Apple, and it is estimated that Apple will acquire it for US$200 million (about 22 billion yen).

Regarding the status of the sale negotiations for the Hakusan factory, Minoru Kikuoka said, "We are continuing to conduct sincere negotiations, but due to the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, the time for completing the negotiations may be delayed from the originally planned time of this year (before the end of March 2020)."

The Hakusan plant mainly produces LCD panels for Apple iPhones. It was put into use in December 2016, and most of the construction cost of 170 billion yen was paid by Apple in the form of "advance payment". However, due to the continued sluggish demand for smartphone panels, the Hakusan plant has been temporarily suspended since July 2019.