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| March
24, 2004
Seiko Epson Corporation/SANYO Electronic Device Company |
| Epson and SANYO to Merge Liquid Crystal Businesses |
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Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson") and SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. ("SANYO") today announced that they would merge their liquid crystal businesses to form a new company. The new company will be known as SANYO EPSON IMAGING DEVICES CORPORATION and is planned to begin operations in October 2004. Epson will hold 55% of the joint venture, and SANYO 45%.
SANYO EPSON IMAGING DEVICES CORPORATION will combine the various liquid crystal businesses of Epson, SANYO, Tottori SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. ("Tottori SANYO"), and SANYO LCD Engineering Co., Ltd. ("SANYO LCD Engineering"). The new entity will aim to become a leading manufacturer of small and medium-sized LCDs for mobile phones, digital cameras, and for use in automobiles.
In recent years, the market for color LCDs has expanded rapidly from PC monitors to new applications such as LCD TVs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and for use in automobiles. The ensuing entry of a large number of manufacturers to the market has resulted in intense price competition. Pressed by the need to develop new products in short cycles and panels with ever-higher performance, manufacturers are faced with massive demands for investment in research and development and manufacturing facilities.
Against this background, the new company will aim to combine and create synergy between Epson and SANYO, notably in the various technical specialties of the two companies including miniaturization technologies, the creation of high quality, high-resolution displays, and volume production expertise. Supplying high-performance and cost-effective LCDs, SANYO EPSON IMAGING DEVICES CORPORATION seeks to become a major player in the market for small- and medium-sized LCDs. Demand for such displays is forecast to grow, with market size in 2005 forecast (*1) at 440 million units for mobile phones (compared to 280 million units in 2003), 70 million units for digital cameras (50 million units in 2003), and 7.6 million units for use in automobiles (5 million units).
The following locations will fall under the auspices of the new company.Epson's Toyoshina Plant in Nagano Prefecture, Japan (manufacture of D-TFD (*2) and STN LCDs)
The Tottori Plant of Tottori SANYO in Tottori Prefecture, Japan (manufacture of LTPS TFT and amorphous TFT LCDs), the Gifu Plant of SANYO LCD Engineering (manufacture of LTPS LCDs) in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and part of SANYO.
Epson's HTPS TFT and OLED businesses and SANYO's OLED business will not be affected by this merger.
The new company will absorb Epson's liquid crystal business, while the merger of the LCD operations of SANYO, Tottori SANYO, and SANYO LCD Engineering will involve a transfer of operations.
Refer to the attachment for details of the new company.
*1: Figures based on forecasts by Epson and SANYO.
*2: D-TFD: Digital-Thin Film Diode, STN: Super-twisted nematic
LTPS: Low temperature polysilicon, TFT: Thin film transistor
HTPS: High temperature polysilicon, OLED: Organic light-emitting displays
Outline of new company
| Company name |
SANYO EPSON IMAGING DEVICES CORPORATION |
| Date of establishment |
Date of establishment |
| Head Office |
Tokyo |
| Company officers |
| President |
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Teruo Tabata (presently director of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., and display company president of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. Component Business Unit and director of Tottori SANYO Electric Co.,
Ltd.) |
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Vice President |
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Shuji Aruga (presently director and chief executive of Displays Operations Division, Seiko Epson
Corp.) | |
Board of directors |
: |
7 directors (4 from Seiko Epson Corp. and 3 from SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., including the
above) | | Auditors |
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3 auditors (1 full-time and 1 part-time auditor from Seiko Epson Corp., 1 part-time auditor SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.) |
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| Paid-in capital |
TBD |
| Proportion of holdings |
Seiko Epson Corp. 55%, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. 45% |
| Forecast scale of new business |
Revenue: Approx: 360,000 million yen (total of combined businesses for FY2003) |
| No. of employees |
TBD |
| Business lines |
Development, production and sales of STN
LCDs, D-TFD LCDs, amorphous TFT LCDs and LTPS TFTs |
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