Struggling Apple supplier Japan Display plans to sell a smartphone screen factory and the land it sits on to Sharp for 41.2 billion yen ($386 million), the company has announced. A deal for the Hakusan liquid crystal display plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, along with the sale of equipment there to a customer believed to be Apple, will earn Japan Display $668 million while cutting excess capacity that has weighed on earnings.
(Nikkei Asian Review, August 28)
Jene Park's key takeaways:

With the decline in LCD prices and Apple products shifting to OLED display, JDI wants to bring down LCD production capacity.
JDI is known to be developing low-power small OLEDs, so it is expected that it will be more aggressive on the OLED business.
Sharp is expected to increase LCD production capacity, targeting the gap in LCD supply caused by the transition to OLED. With Samsung Display completely stopping its LCD business from 2021, Sharp is expected to support Samsung with LCDs.
The Hakusan plant, in particular, is known as the plant that Apple has invested in before. Therefore, there is a possibility of some Apple connection in this Sharp deal.

Apple Supplier JDI to Sell Plant to Sharp for $386 M

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