“Apple is rumored to be in talks with Renesas regarding a potential acquisition of a 55% stake in its display chip joint venture with Sharp and Powerchip, Renesas SP Drivers,” Trefis Team reports for Forbes. “The struggling Japanese chipmaker is restructuring to increase its focus on its core auto business and limit exposure to non-core business units, which is why it is looking to offload its stake in the display-chip unit. It is in talks with other companies as well, but Apple seems to be the frontrunner in these discussions given its offer of $480 million and Renesas’ strategic importance to the iPhone maker.”
“Renesas SP Drivers is the world’s leading manufacturer of drivers and controllers for small- and mid-sized LCD displays used in mobile devices, and accounts for almost a third of the market,” Trefis reports. “It is also the sole supplier of display controllers used in the iPhone, and counts all three of the companies that make iPhone displays, namely Sharp, Japan Display and LG Display LPL -0.45%, among its key clients.”
“Sharp, which owns a stake of about 25% in Renesas SP Drivers, is likely to follow suit and sell its stake to Apple should the Apple-Renesas deal materialize,” Trefis reports. “Overall, the deal could cost Apple about $700 million in cash should it acquire both Renesas’ and Sharp’s stakes at the same valuation. This could be an effective utilization of Apple’s cash hoard, almost 80% of which is held in foreign accounts and cannot be repatriated back to the U.S. without attracting a huge tax outlay. However, it will hardly move the needle on Apple’s overseas cash balance, which stood at over $124 billion at the end of the December quarter.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple and Renesas: The economics of what Apple is doing with their mountain or cash – April 3, 2014
Renesas surges on report of sale talks with Apple – April 2, 2014
Apple in talks with Japan’s Renesas Electronics to buy smartphone display chipmaking unit for $479 million – April 1, 2014
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Apple got mojo.
If anyone needs proof of Samcum’s trolls doing everything possible to infiltarte Mac forums with negative feedback, look no further than above.
Why would a favorable comment about Apple such as the one above, receive any negative feedback or ratings in a Mac forum ..??
Samscum hard at work for their blood karma money.
It will never make a difference idiots, Apple is loved.
Money can’t buy you love samscum.
You think this is the work of Samsung only? I have a long list of Apple haters who could be responsible for these hit & runs.
The chicken shit anonymous commenters who are too afraid to actually comment use MDNs convenient rating system.
MDN should reserve the star ratings to its membership only!
+1
Go blow a goat, KeyStoneCop
There will always exist a scurrilous lot who will attempt to game any system that may be devised: either for the thrill, or for the profit. It’s this band of jackals constantly prowling the periphery that forces us into the business of regulation in the first place. Alas, Eden.
In what bank is the $124 billion cash balance held?
IRELAND
Apple’s overseas cash balance, which stood at over $124 billion at the end of the December quarter.
Most of that money could be here in the USA if not for #MyStupidGovernment.
Many jobs were sustained in Cork owing to the management of these considerable funds, and that ought not to be diminished.