Samsung plans to spin off its LCD business
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has plans to spin off its liquid-crystal display (LCD) operations into a separate business in an attempt to breathe life into its unprofitable flat-panel business.
Samsung is now focusing on a more advanced technology called organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) as sharp declines in the prices of the conventional displays dragged Samsung’s LCD operations into the red in the recent years
Announcing the move, Samsung said in a statement, “Currently, the display market is undergoing rapid changes with OLED panels expected to fast replace LCD panels to become the mainstream.”
The company added that adopting measures for change & innovation, including business restructuring, were necessary for it to enhance its compositeness in the field of display business.
The spun off LCD operations will be named Samsung Display Co. and launched on 1st of April with capital of 750 billion won (around $668mn).
Samsung, the world's largest supplier of LCDs by sales, added that it would hold all of the shares in the spun off business.
Last year, Samsung and Japanese electronics giant Sony announced their decision to end their joint venture S-LCD Co., which used to produce LCDs for TVs, after the seven-year collaboration failed to yield desired returns.
