Japanese electronics firm Sharp announced on Wednesday that Samsung will be investing approximately $112 million in the company, taking a 3% stake. The deal will also provide for a long-term supply of LCD panels.
In accordance with the deal, as noted by The Next Web, Samsung will purchase 35.8 million shares of Sharp stock at a price of 290 yen per share on March 28, giving the Korean tech giant a 3.08 percent voting rights equivalent in the struggling Japanese firm. Sharp announced the alliance in a prepared statement published on its corporate website.
Samsung will become the fifth largest major shareholder in Sharp, and the largest foreign entity holding a stake in the firm. U.S. based chipmaker Qualcomm previously held that title, with a 2.64% share of Sharp.
Sharp already supplies Samsung with LCD displays, but the news release said the alliance will “provide a long-term, stable and timely supply of LCD panels for large-size TVs and small- and medium-size LCD panels for mobile devices such as notebook computers.”
Sharp also supplies Samsung frenemy Apple with LCD panels, adding another facet to the ongoing feud between the two tech titans.
Sharp says it plans to put the proceeds of the sale into the development of high-definition LCD technologies, and invest in facilities for the manufacturing of mobile LCD panels.
