Taiwanese LCD maker AU Optronics (AUO) has signed a deal to acquire Toshiba’s LCD manufacturing plant in Singapore, the company said Wednesday.
Under terms of the agreement, AUO will acquire all of the shares in AFPD, a TFT-LCD screen maker owned by Toshiba Mobile Display. In addition, the two companies agreed to sign “certain agreements” related to their respective intellectual property, AUO said in a statement, without offering details.
AFPD produces TFT-LCD screens based on low-temperature polysilicon technology with so-called 4.5 generation technology, which uses glass sheets measuring 730 millimeters by 920 millimeters. The plant can produce 45,000 sheets per month, with the finished screens finding their way into flat-screen televisions, laptop computers, monitors and automotive displays.
The acquisition of AFPD expands the manufacturing reach of AUO, which has plants in Taiwan and China. According to a statement, the companies said the acquisition could help to place AUO in a special strategic position in the high-end slim notebook and smart phone markets and new application markets such as tablet PCs.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.