TPK Holding Co (宸鴻), a touch sensor supplier for Apple Inc’s iPads, yesterday said it has joined a consortium that is to invest ￥60 billion (US$535.9 million) for a 50 percent stake in ailing Japan Display Inc (JDI), as it seeks to secure its display supply and broaden its customer base.
The announcement ended three months of speculation about TPK’s involvement in talks to help the financially troubled Japanese display supplier.
Two months ago, TPK dismissed such speculation, saying that it could not afford to bankroll a company that was much bigger than itself.
Changing its tune, TPK yesterday said it has signed a letter of intent to invest US$230 million in a consortium, Suwa Investment Holdings LLC, that would acquire a 49.82 percent stake in Japan Display.
With the investment, the Taipei-based firm would be the largest stakeholder of Suwa with a 41.8 percent share, TPK said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The consortium plans to subscribe to ￥42 billion in new shares issued by Japan Display and to ￥18 billion in convertible bonds issued by the Japanese firm, TPK said in the statement.
Should Japan Display need more cash to fund its operations, the consortium might invest another ￥120 billion by subscribing to a convertible bond issue, the statement said.
Aside from TPK, the consortium is composed of China’s Harvest Tech Investment Management Co (嘉實科技) and two investment firms — Cosgrove Global Ltd and Topnotch Corp — owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co’s (富邦金控) Tsai (蔡) family.
Harvest and the Tsai family hold 34.5 percent and 23.6 percent of Suwa’s shares respectively.
TPK also inked an agreement with Japan Display to form a display business alliance, aiming to boost its role in the display supply chain, enlarge its customer base and expand its market share in automotive displays.
TPK said it has sufficient cash to fund the deal.
As of Dec. 31 last year, it had NT$17.06 billion (US$552.46 million) in cash on its book, company data showed.
“The investment should have a positive impact on TPK, as the company will secure stable panel supply from JDI,” said David Hsieh (謝勤益), a senior display analyst with IHS Markit Technology.
“The deal, if realized, will also give TPK a ticket to enter Apple Watch’s supply chain,” Hsieh added.
Japan Display is in the process of qualifying its displays for the Apple Watch and might start supplying the US company at the end of this year at the earliest, he said.
TPK has been trying to break into the automotive display market, but has not made substantial progress, but investing in Japan Display could be a shortcut to achieving that goal, Hsieh said.
“JDI is a good pick as it is the world’s largest supplier of displays used in cars,” Hsieh said.
Japan Display counts auto part supplier Denso as one of its major clients, he said.
Nonetheless, the risk remains, as JDI has failed investors in turning around its operations following several round of cash injections, he said.
Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday introduced the company’s latest supercomputer platform, featuring six new chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), saying that it is now “in full production.” “If Vera Rubin is going to be in time for this year, it must be in production by now, and so, today I can tell you that Vera Rubin is in full production,” Huang said during his keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. The rollout of six concurrent chips for Vera Rubin — the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform — marks a strategic
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
RSS