AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the nation’s biggest liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panel maker, was mulling the acquisition of a TV unit from local electronics maker Qisda Corp (佳世達) to meet growing customer demand for integrated solutions, a company official said yesterday.
The move would turn AUO into a panel maker and a TV assembler, a business model created by local LCD monitor assembler Innolux Display Corp (群創).
“Some branded customers of AU Optronics are asking that we provide more integrated solutions. AU Optronics needs to think about how to satisfy customer demand in the long run,” Hsiao Ya-wen (蕭雅文), an official at AUO’s corporate communications department, said by telephone.
The companies are in talks about deepening what is already a close partnership to enhance competitiveness. But the boards have yet to make a final decision on the matter, Hsiao said.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday that AUO was likely to merge with the TV unit of Qisda, following in Innolux’s footsteps.
Innolux, an affiliate of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the nation’s largest electronics component supplier, makes panels and assembles LCD monitors and TVs for other companies to minimize erosion from the volatile supply-demand environment.
“Qisda is closely working with AU Optronics in making LCD TVs. The companies are seeking ways to increase their competitiveness. The details are still under discussion,” Qisda said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Qisda is a spinoff of BenQ Corp (明基), which separated its electronics manufacturing unit and brand unit after failing to turn around the money-losing handset unit of Siemens AG.
AUO, which holds a 9.58 percent share of Qisda, is supplying panels to Qisda, which assembles panel modules for the panel maker.
Qisda owns a 7 percent stake in AUO.
Qisda halved its TV shipment forecast for this year to 1 million units, saying a sluggish economy had hurt demand. The company also makes LCD monitors, projectors and mobile phones for other companies.
Last week, AUO said that it would spend about 250 million Czech koruny (US$14.2 million) on turning its Czech maintenance plant into a panel module assembling line.
Shares of AUO and Qisda rallied by 2.49 percent and 3.03 percent to NT$34.95 and NT$13.6 respectively, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX index, which rose 0.52 percent yesterday.
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