Japan Display says has not received notice about Chinese investment (updated)

TPK Holding Co

14/06/2019 09:52

(Adds details from statement and background)
    TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc supplier Japan Display
Inc  6740.T  said on Friday it had not received notice from a
Chinese-Taiwanese consortium about a potential 80 billion yen
($740 million) investment, raising the possibility of a critical
delay in much-needed cash.
    A further delay of a cash injection could raise questions
about the survival of the ailing smartphone screen maker, which
has been hit by Apple's  AAPL.O  slowing iPhone sales and a late
shift to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens.
    Japan Display said in a statement it would make an
announcement once it had received notice from the consortium,
which includes Taiwanese flat screen maker TPK Holding Co Ltd
 3673.TW  and Chinese investment firm Harvest Group.  
    The consortium reached a basic agreement on the deal in
mid-April but delayed formalising it to reassess Japan Display's
prospects.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N22P1WH
    Soon after that delay, client Apple agreed to wait for money
owed and the biggest shareholder, the Japanese government-backed
INCJ fund, offered to forgive 44.7 billion yen in debt.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2361RA
    Japan Display is shrinking the smartphone display business
to stop cash outflows and seeking to cut 1,200 jobs. It is also
temporarily suspending a main display panel plant funded by
Apple and closing one of the lines at another main panel plant.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN23I0QJ 
    Those restructuring measures could result in a loss of as
much as 79 billion yen for this financial year ending in March,
the company said this week.
    The bailout deal would allow the buyers to become Japan
Display's biggest shareholders with a 49.8 percent stake,
replacing the Japanese government-backed INCJ fund.
    Japan Display was formed in 2012 by combining the LCD
businesses of Hitachi Ltd  6501.T , Toshiba Corp  6502.T  and
Sony Corp  6758.T  in a deal brokered by the government.
    It went public in March 2014 and was worth more than 400
billion yen then. It is now worth 67 billion yen.
($1 = 108.1700 yen)

 (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by David Dolan and
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((david.dolan@tr.com; +81 3 6441 1526; Reuters Messaging:
david.dolan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))