TOKYO, April 2 — Renesas Electronics Corp is talking with Apple Inc and other potential buyers of a stake in a smartphone display chip unit, as the struggling Japanese chipmaker restructures its business around the automotive industry, says a person familiar with the matter.
Renesas is considering selling its 55 per cent stake in Renesas SP Driver, which makes semiconductors that control displays, and which sources say is one of several Japanese suppliers of components for Apple’s iPhone.
Apple has been tightening control over its supply chain to keep up with main rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and stay ahead of fast-growing Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
The US manufacturer was one of a number of companies Renesas met to discuss selling the stake, the source said today.
Renesas, which has racked up nearly ¥650 billion (RM20.5 billion) in net losses during eight years in the red, said today it was considering selling the unit but declined to comment further.
The Japanese company could sell Apple its stake for ¥50 billion by the summer, said the Nikkei business daily, which first reported on the talks with Apple.
Sharp Corp could also sell its 25 per cent stake in the unit if requested to do so by Apple, the Nikkei said. Taiwan’s Powerchip owns the remaining stake.
Apple did not respond to an email request for comment.
Shares of Renesas surged after the report by as much as 19 per cent to ¥934, their highest in more than three years. They had pulled back by early afternoon to ¥828, up 5.6 per cent, compared with a 1.2 per cent rise in the benchmark index.
Renesas, formed from the struggling chip divisions of three Japanese electronics conglomerates, received a ¥150 billion bailout in September from major customers and a government-led fund, countering a bid by US private equity firm KKR & Co LP.
Electronics manufacturers Japan Display Inc and Sharp, along with South Korea’s LG Display, were set to make larger screens for Apple’s iPhone 6, which was widely expected to be released this autumn, supply chain sources said. — Reuters
