Sharp Spinning off Semiconductor Business

Pretty interesting... not sure what it means, but it deserves to be watched.



Japan Times


Sharp will set up two wholly owned subsidiaries that will absorb the semiconductor-related operations to be spun off, the company said Wednesday.

One of the two units will focus on semiconductors and sensors and the other on semiconductor lasers.
Sharp Chairman and President Tai Jeng-wu told reporters that the company’s management resources are limited in the field of semiconductors so he wants to tap overseas and domestic resources, showing eagerness to forge alliances with other firms including Sharp’s parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. of Taiwan.

Currently, Sharp manufactures semiconductor-related products at its plants in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Nara.

Foxconn takes Sharp

There are a lot of other companies that could have been targeted to bring OLED (the usual suspect) to Foxconn. Only one possible buy-out target had the "next generation display" that had a huge display and tiny form factor -- that was Sharp with PicoP.


Wall Street Journal -- much more at the source.

The deal is a victory for Foxconn, which has been looking to expand in the market for next-generation displays with its pursuit of Sharp, a supplier of smartphone screens to Apple Inc. Foxconn believes acquiring Sharp will allow it to move up the technology value chain by making smartphone screens, which are the most expensive components in mobile devices.

“We have much that we want to achieve and I am confident that we will unlock Sharp’s true potential and together reach great heights,” Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou said in a statement Wednesday.