Japan Display Inc said on Friday it would receive a $100 million investment from a customer, which a source said was Apple Inc, as part of a bailout deal led by a Chinese investment firm for the smartphone screen maker.
Japan Display is facing a funding crunch due to Apple’s recent shift away from liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and disappointing sales of the iPhone XR, the only LCD model in Apple’s 2018 line-up.
Apple, which accounted for 60.6% of Japan Display’s revenue in the last financial year ended March, will join a consortium led by China’s Harvest Group in investing up to 80 billion yen ($743 million), said a person briefed on the matter. Japan Display said in a statement Harvest had formalized its decision to inject nearly $500 million, including the $100 million investment from the unidentified customer.
In a separate statement later on Friday, the Japanese company said another consortium member, Hong Kong-based activist investor Oasis Management, has decided to invest $150 million to $180 million. The investment is dependent on conditions including no major cuts in orders from a main customer.
MacDailyNews Take: May this injection be the one that finally does the trick for Japan Display!
