KYOCERA to Acquire TFT Liquid Crystal
Display Design & Manufacturing Facility
from SONY
Acquisition brings strategic expansion to Kyocera’s LCD
product line
March 31, 2010
Kyocera Corporation (President: Tetsuo Kuba; herein “Kyocera”) today announced that it has
reached a definitive agreement with Sony Corporation and its subsidiary Sony Mobile Display
Corporation (herein “SMD”) to acquire part of its Thin Film Transistor (TFT) Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD) design and manufacturing business. The acquisition will be undertaken by
means of a corporate split, where Kyocera will acquire the TFT LCD facilities of SMD located
in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, effective June 1, 2010. Existing employment contracts
will be assigned to Kyocera and employees transferred on the same date.
Background
Kyocera’s Corporate Thin Film Components Group develops, manufactures and markets
small- and medium-sized (under 10.4 inch) LCDs for industrial applications worldwide. The
company is known as a stable supplier of STN (passive) and TFT (active) LCDs, with strong
capabilities in accommodating specific customer requirements, even in low-volume orders.
Strong growth in demand for more cost-competitive, larger, higher resolution industrial-use
TFT LCDs is expected to continue. The acquisition of SMD’s TFT LCD business is intended
to strengthen Kyocera’s ability to respond to this growth.
This acquisition will enable Kyocera to expand its diverse TFT LCD line with products of even
higher added value to meet a wider range of customer needs.
Related Link
LCDs
About Kyocera
Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyocera Corporation is one of the world's leading manufacturers of fine ceramic components for the
technology industry. The strategically important divisions in the Kyocera Group, which comprises 213 subsidiaries (April 1st, 2010), are
information and communications technologies, products to increase the quality of life, and environmentally friendly products. The
technology group is also one of the largest producers of solar energy systems worldwide.
With a workforce of about 63.000 employees, Kyocera posted net sales of approximately €8.59 billion in fiscal year 2009/2010. The
products marketed by the company in Europe include laser printers, digital copying systems, microelectronic components, fineceramic
products and complete solar systems. The corporation has two independent companies in the Federal Republic of Germany: the Kyocera
Fineceramics GmbH in Neuss and Esslingen and the Kyocera Mita Deutschland GmbH in Meerbusch.
The company also takes a lively interest in cultural affairs. The Kyoto Prize, one of the most prominent international awards, is presented each
year by the Inamori Foundation, once established by Kyocera founder Dr. Kazuo Inamori, to individuals and groups worldwide for their
outstanding human achievement (converted at present €450.000 per prize category).