iPhone LCD screen maker Japan Display claims it is on the verge of a new bailout deal, and it looks like Apple will be chipping in double the amount it had previously pledged to the bailout.
Struggling Japan Display, which lost an investor back in September, now claims it is nearing a new deal. The iPhone screen production partner says that while it had been expecting to gain a bailout of around 80 billion yen, but will instead be able to move forward on a smaller amount.
“We are close to 50 billion [yen, approximately $470 million],” Japan Display’s CEO Minoru Kikuoka told Reuters, “And I believe we can cement the deal this month.”
Japan Display one of their major clients will be investing $200 million, and that the amount is double the amount previously pledged. Sources say that client is Apple.
In addition to Apple’s investment, an $150 to $180 million investment is expected from Hong Kong firm Oasis Management. The remaining $90 to $120 million for the new bailout plan is expected to come from another Japan Display supplier and other, as yet unspecified, sources.
Apple accounts for over half of JDI’s sales, as they supply the liquid crystal displays for Apple’s iPhone 11, helping it to remain in business. However, its overall LCD display business has been hit hard by the growing adoption of OLED panel technology (used in Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max).
JDI has struggled to invest in OLED production, as it last year faced a $2.3 billion loss in 2018. The company did receive a 20 billion yen cash infusion in September from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.
In a bit of good news for Japan Display, the company has seen LCD orders increase by more than expected. Those orders are believed to have come via Apple, as the Cupertino firm has reportedly increased its orders for the iPhone 11.