Matthew LentiniHitachi is looking to join Toshiba and Sony in merging operations for manufacturing small and mid-sized LCD panels, according to Japanese reports.Toshiba and Sony are said to be in talks to put their units together in a joint venture with part-private, part-public company Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) to manufacture LCD screens fit for smartphones and tablets.
Hitachi is aiming to join in that conversation and reach an agreement with the involved companies in July, according to a report by Japanese news source, Nikkei.
The Japanese electronics companies, which face heavy competition from their Korean and Chinese neighbours, are putting their operations alongside Japanese government investment through INCJ, potentially selling a multi-billion dollar stake in the new company to the government.
The talks between Sony and Toshiba originally surfaced earlier this month. The proposal would see manufacture of next-generation OLED panels that could be seen on devices locally as soon as the PlayStation Vita handheld console by Sony is released.