TOKYO--Shares of chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. surged in
trading Wednesday after a report that Apple is considering buying
that a unit of the company that designs chips for smartphone
displays.
Apple has its eye on Renesas SP Drivers, a joint venture with
Sharp Corp. and Taiwan's Powerchip, Japanese business daily the
Nikkei reported. Apple is said to be seeking Renesas' entire 55%
stake for an estimated Yen50 billion ($479 million), the daily also
said.
In early trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the chip makers
shares surged over 10% at one point compared with a 0.7% gain in
the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average.
Renesas said in a statement that the report was not based on
something that the company had announced, although it was exploring
various options with the unit.
Although the reported monetary value of the deal is not that
large in terms of tech M&As, Renesas has been struggling in
recent years. It currently expects to log a Yen21.8 billion net
loss for the just-ended fiscal year after racking up a massive
Yen167.58 billion loss a year earlier.
The Nikkei report described Renesas SP as the world's leading
producer of drivers and controllers for small and midsize LCDs,
with a market share of around one-third. It also said that Sharp
owns 25% of the venture, with Powerchip, which handles
manufacturing, holding the remaining 20%.
Write to Shawn Schroter at Shawn.Schroter@wsj.com
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