13°c Light rain
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
Sony ends TV panel joint venture with rival Sharp under new strategy
TOKYO - Sony Corp. is ending its joint venture with rival electronics maker Sharp Corp. to produce and sell large liquid-crystal displays for TVs — part of its new strategy to buy panels rather than invest in manufacturing them.
Sony said Thursday it will sell back to the joint venture Sharp Display Products Corp. all 7 per cent of the stake it has held since 2009. Sony won't lose any money as it will receive 10 billion yen ($126 million), the same as what it paid for shares in the Sharp subsidiary, which produces panels in Sakai city, western Japan.
Tokyo-based Sony, which makes the Walkman portable player and PlayStation 3 game machine, recently also ended its joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co. to produce flat panels.
Sony said in March it will not raise its stake in Sharp Display Products as initially planned. Thursday's move completes the pullout.
Sony has bled money for eight straight years in its core TV business, bashed by competition from Samsung and other Asian rivals.
Sony had a glamorous TV business when people were still buying fatter cathode-ray tube sets, and fell behind when rivals, and consumers, switched to flat-panels.
The decision to get out of panel-making comes as Sony seeks a turnaround under President Kazuo Hirai, appointed in February.
Sony officials say the company will simply start buying panels from manufacturers at good prices, and focus on Sony's own imaging and other technology to differentiate its TVs from rivals.
Sony racked up a record annual loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) in its fourth straight year of red ink for the fiscal year ended March. It is projecting a return to profit this fiscal year.
___
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama
More Featured
- Back to Top
- Return to Featured
More Featured
(1 of 26 articles for this week)
Small Florida city wonders who hit historic $590.5M Powerball lottery jackpot
05/19/2013 2:45 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Featured
- Massage parlours rub therapists wrong way
- Winnipegger convicted of importing coral rock, sea horses
- Red light? Green light?
- The Princess's speech: Kate makes maiden address to children's hospice
- Neslisah Sultan, twice-exiled former Ottoman princess, dies
- Old image of Chuck E. Cheese given the pink slip for hipper looking mascot
- Zebra, horse corralled after running down New York City street
- Property taxes going up again
- To 'Infinity' and Beyond: Disney unveils own 'Skylanders'-like franchise combining toys, games
- Les McKeown survives dark times to become 'born again Bay City Roller'
- Massage parlours rub therapists wrong way
- Rents hit the roof
- Red River College's culinary institute open for classes
- Property taxes going up again
- Winnipegger convicted of importing coral rock, sea horses
- Big changes coming to youth soccer in Winnipeg
- Red light? Green light?
- 'Self-inflicted wounds' that helped undo the Wildrose in Alberta election
- Les McKeown survives dark times to become 'born again Bay City Roller'
- Shootups blamed on gang war
- Massage parlours rub therapists wrong way
- Red River College's culinary institute open for classes
- Rents hit the roof
- Red light? Green light?
- Winnipegger convicted of importing coral rock, sea horses
- Shootups blamed on gang war
- Olympia Dukakis leads lesbian road movie 'Cloudburst'
- Les McKeown survives dark times to become 'born again Bay City Roller'
- Review: Kindle Fire looks nice, but $199 price comes with sacrifice
- Are Canadian kids undervaccinated? Or is it that we just don't know?
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.