Sharp and Sony to Terminate LCD Joint Venture SDP

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Sharp and Sony have announced that the two companies will be ending their LCD joint venture.

Sony is selling its 7.04 percent share in Sharp Display (SDP) for 10 billion yen, or about $12.5 million, back to Sharp Display. The transaction is expected to be completed next month. Sony acquired the stake back in December of 2009 as part of an investment in Sharp Display and the company's Saikai City plant.

Originally, the two companies had planned to use the joint venture to collaborate in the production and development of large-sized LCD panels and modules.  In March of this year, Sony said that due to the changing market conditions for LCD panels, it would not make any further investments, which resulted in an agreement to sell its stake to Sharp.

Both Sony and Sharp said that the transaction will not have any material impact on their financial forecast.

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Douglas Perry
11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Shin-san
    So, does this mean that Sony will no longer make LCD displays?
    Reply
  • darkavenger123
    Sony gave up. They can't fight Sharp and Samsung anymore. Next they'll give up the Android mobile business....

    The fall of SONY is long and hard.
    Reply
  • kikireeki
    darkavenger123Sony gave up. They can't fight Sharp and Samsung anymore. Next they'll give up the Android mobile business....The fall of SONY is long and hard.
    You've got it totally wrong! it is Sharp that is giving up and going to fall hard, not Sony.
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-10/sharp-widens-loss-forecast-to-4-7-billion-on-slumping-tv-sales.html
    Reply
  • 125 million. If it was 12,5 I'd buy it myself...
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    sharp seems to be making better TV's than Sony these days but they are both good brands in the TV market. it doesn't matter anyway. anyone buying a TV now would go with LED and the bargain hunters will go with cheap obsolete plasma's
    Reply
  • hiryu
    I read another news that Sony is considering Panasonic as a partner to develop and research on OLED TV
    Reply
  • skidawgz
    @captaincharisma You should do your TV research. Plasmas offer better picture quality and are better TVs all around (50-65") for all but those who refuse to believe it. Sony makes the most color accurate LED set apart from the Sharp-Pioneer ELITE TV. To other I don't think Sony gave up anything, I believe a lot of Japanese companies were heavily set back by the tsunami
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    skidawgz@captaincharisma You should do your TV research. Plasmas offer better picture quality and are better TVs all around (50-65") for all but those who refuse to believe it. Sony makes the most color accurate LED set apart from the Sharp-Pioneer ELITE TV. To other I don't think Sony gave up anything, I believe a lot of Japanese companies were heavily set back by the tsunami
    and i am sure if you're CRT TV didn't die on you would never get a a TV again. LED and OLED will the way to go for the best picture quality. plasmas are too bulky and heavy for a flatscreen today
    Reply
  • LukeCWM
    captaincharismaand i am sure if you're CRT TV didn't die on you would never get a a TV again. LED and OLED will the way to go for the best picture quality. plasmas are too bulky and heavy for a flatscreen today
    Plasma screens have much better black levels than LCD or LED. Also, every screen has fantastic refresh rate, and each pixel has its own light source, meaning greater contrast ratios. (This is referring to actual contrast ratios, not "dynamic" contrast ratios. Dynamic contrast ratios are measured by turning the back-lighting off, which isn't possible while watching a movie of course. And for those who say, "Hey, what about local dimming?" I checked a month ago to find that every single LCD TV sold at the Best Buy near my home used edge-lighting, meaning local dimming is impossible.) And lastly, can you really tell from across the room that your TV sticks 3" out from the wall instead of 1.5"? Complaining about plasma TV's thickness is absurd.

    And, for your information, LED TVs are still LCD. They just use LEDs for back-lighting instead of fluorescent tubes. LCD isn't old technology since it is incorporated in every LED TV. Unfortunately, most LCD TVs that make it into the consumers homes have very poor refresh rates.

    However, you're right in that LCD will be old technology once OLED is available and cheap: with OLED, the colors are fantastic, each pixel produces it's own back-light (good for contrast ratios), they are improving the longevity of the OLED color balance, and when the manufacturers are finally tooled up, it will be cheaper to manufacture than LCD. Hooray for the future!
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    The TV business just isn't that lucrative anymore. Samsung and LG can use their cheaper Won to make cheaper products that are just as good as Bravia and Aquos panels. The margins on panels are razer-thin. That's why so many of the Japanese companies like Toshiba, Sony, Sharp and Panasonic are now struggling in this sector. Heck, even the Koreans are struggling with their TV division, last I recall.

    I wouldn't be surprised if the major companies throw it in the towel entirely in the near future.
    Reply