Chinese TCL has completed the acquisition of LG Display's Guangzhou liquid crystal display (LCD) factory and will begin operating the production line in earnest.
According to the industry on the 2nd, TCL announced through the newsroom that LG Display's Guangzhou 8.5-generation LCD line has been officially transferred to its display subsidiary, China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co. (CSOT). TCL noted that it has completed the transaction approval and commercial registration procedures for the equity of LG Display's Guangzhou panel factory (CA corporation) and module factory (GZ corporation).
Previously, LG Display signed a contract to transfer equity of its large LCD panel and module factory in Guangzhou to CSOT in September of last year. The sale price is reported to be 10.8 billion yuan (approximately 2.3 trillion won). With this, CSOT secured a 100% ownership stake in the Guangzhou factory by obtaining LG Display's 80% equity and the 20% equity previously held by the Guangzhou local government as of last January.
Including this acquisition, CSOT has gained ownership of two 6th generation, four 8.5th generation, one 8.6th generation, and two 10.5th generation LCD production lines. Based on this, it plans to intensify domestic competition with Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and Hisense, as well as to pursue the global market.
Market research firm TrendForce forecasts that with the acquisition of the Guangzhou factory, CSOT's global large LCD market share (based on area) will expand from 19.3% to 22.9%. TrendForce stated, "The top priority for CSOT, aiming to expand into the super-large TV market, is optimizing the expense structure of T11, planning new product lines, and securing a stable customer base," and added, "T11 may also play an important role in expanding the IT panel business, including monitors."