Mar 06
Sharp has just announced that it’s getting a $110 million shot in the arm from Samsung. In turn, that will help guarantee Sammy as many LCD panels as it can use. More »
Mar 06
Sharp / Samsung – Samsung Electronics invests 10.4 billion JPY for 3.08% stake in Sharp Electronics
Posted in: Today's ChiliBig news in the interplay of Japanese and Korean electronics, Sharp Corporation today announced that it will receive a 10.4 billion Japanese Yen (USD111.4m) investment from Samsung Electronics Japan Co., Ltd. and will issues shares equivalent to 3.08% of the voting rights of the company.
Sharp says it is currently supplying Samsung Electronics with LCD panels and through this alliance will be able “secure its source of revenue from LCD business forming the company’s …
Mar 06
Sharp may be close to receiving a $110 million boost from Samsung (update: deal final)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Japan’s Sharp has been struggling very publicly for some time now, and many reports indicate it’s been looking outward for interested investors. While it already secured just such an arrangement with Qualcomm in December, rumors indicate attempts to reach a deal with Foxconn are in trouble and now Samsung is tabbed as a potential investor. Reuters and Japan’s Nikkei cite sources indicating an official announcement could come sometime today regarding a 10 billion yen ($110 million) investment that would net the Korean electronics giant a three percent piece of Sharp. This deal would be mutually beneficial as Sharp gains a place to sell more of the LCDs it’s capable of manufacturing, and Samsung cheaply expands its supply of panels, with a possibility of expanding their arrangement beyond LCDs in the future. We’ll wait and see exactly what happens, but those IGZO screens Sharp is working on could be popping up in some unexpected places by the time it’s all said and done.
Update: Sharp has just confirmed that Samsung is now indeed a 3.08 percent owner thanks to an investment of 10.4 billion yen ($112 million). It said the deal would “further strengthen the alliance (with Samsung Electronics) and continuously provide a long-term, stable and timely output of LCD panels for large-size TVs and small- and medium-size LCD panels for mobile devices such as notebook computers.” For more info, see the PR after the break.
Filed under: Displays, Samsung
Source: Nikkei, Reuters, Wall Street Journal
Mar 05
Japan’s Sharp has been struggling very publicly for some time now, and many reports indicate it’s been looking outward for interested investors. While it already secured just such an arrangement with Qualcomm in December, rumors indicate attempts to reach a deal with Foxconn are in trouble and now Samsung is tabbed as a potential investor. Reuters and Japan’s Nikkei cite sources indicating an official announcement could come sometime today regarding a 10 billion yen ($110 million) investment that would net the Korean electronics giant a three percent piece of Sharp. This deal would be mutually beneficial as Sharp gains a place to sell more of the LCDs it’s capable of manufacturing, and Samsung cheaply expands its supply of panels, with a possibility of expanding their arrangement beyond LCDs in the future. We’ll wait and see exactly what happens, but those IGZO screens Sharp is working on could be popping up in some unexpected places by the time it’s all said and done.
Filed under: Displays, Samsung
Source: Nikkei, Reuters, Wall Street Journal
Jan 31
Samsung buys five percent stake in stylus-maker Wacom, strikes manufacturing deal
Posted in: Today's Chili 
You don’t have to look much further than the millions of Galaxy Notes sold to realize that Samsung is serious about the stylus, but the company’s now made that commitment clearer than ever by buying a piece of Wacom. It’s not the biggest of investments for a company of Samsung’s size, but the $58.9 million it’s laid out will give it a five percent voting stake in the company, and a further in with what is one of the world’s leading stylus makers. According to Wacom, its share of the global pen tablet market stands at a whopping 85 percent, and its sales of its components for use in smartphones and tablets have nearly doubled from 2011 to 2012.
As for where the new cash infusion will be put to use, Wacom says that by March of 2014 the entire net amount raised from the sale of shares will be invested in “product development and manufacturing and supply system enhancements for products to be supplied to Samsung Electronics,” adding that it aims to “expand its relationship” with Samsung even further.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: Phone Arena
Source: Wacom (PDF)
Dec 03
We already knew that Sharp’s been asking around for some much-needed help recently, and now we can all breathe a sigh of relief, as Nikkei is reporting that said manufacturer has finally found a new friend to help co-develop its energy-efficient IGZO LCD panels. Set to announce as soon as Tuesday (presumably Japan time), the deal will involve Qualcomm initially throwing in five billion yen ($61 million) by the end of the year, with a double-down of another five billion yen after “sufficient progress has been made.” There’s no timeline yet on when (or if) a full investment would be secured, but if all goes to plan, Qualcomm will eventually hold nearly five percent of Sharp’s stock, whereas Sharp will more or less get back the 10 billion yen it lost to Sony following the termination of their joint venture earlier this year. Not a bad way to prepare for 2013, eh?
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays
Via: Reuters
Source: Nikkei (subscription required)
Nov 07
AT&T to spend $14 billion over the next three years on broadband, wireless infrastructure
Posted in: Today's Chili 
AT&T has announced that it will be dropping a cool $14 billion over the next three years or so to beef up its wireless and wireline broadband networks. Project Velocity IP (VIP) will see the company boost its 4G LTE network to 300 million users by year-end 2014 and expand its wired IP broadband base to 75 percent of customer locations by the end of 2015. In addition, the operator intends to have fiber deployed to a million business locations and plans to expand U-verse by 8.5 million users to 33 million customer locations. It predicts that 99 percent of customers will get broadband services either through terrestrial IP or wireless 4G LTE when it’s all said and done. $8 billion will go toward wireless projects, while $6 billion will help goose up wired broadband — so, nobody can say the telecom giant is hoarding all those profits. Check the PR after the jump for a full breakdown.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet, AT&T
AT&T to spend $14 billion over the next three years on broadband, wireless infrastructure originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 28
After months of speculation about who would step in to save the scandal-ridden Olympus‘ rocky fortunes, Sony has finally opened up its checkbook. The two companies are entering into a “business and capital alliance,” with Sony pumping in $650 million to its former rival. In exchange, it’s gaining a seat on the company’s board and a 51 percent stake in a new joint venture based on Olympus’s coveted medical imaging tech — something Kaz Hirai outlined in his “One Sony” strategy. The deal also includes a component-sharing agreement in the photography space, with Olympus mirror cells and camera lenses being given to Sony, while image sensors (where Sony is very strong) will go the other way.
Filed under: Cameras
Sony makes Olympus rescue pact official with $645 million investment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Aug 27
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze may have stepped down as chairman of the board, but he’s certainly not out. His plan to buy the turbulent company has reached the next step — an agreement which pre-empts the formal offer. Schulze now has access to all the private numbers he’ll need to put together an investor group within the 60-day timeframe. And, if this round is unsuccessful, it’ll be next January before another bid can go to the Board of Directors, followed by direct shareholder offers if the second attempt fails. Given that Schulze owns 20 percent of Best Buy, he gets two seats-worth of voting power as long as he sticks to the agreed process. So, with a new CEO taking the reigns in September and the acquisition machinery in top gear, is there fresh hope for the big box retailer?
Continue reading Best Buy founder ever closer to finalizing company buyout bid
Filed under: Misc
Best Buy founder ever closer to finalizing company buyout bid originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 27
Samsung’s round of cash-flashing continues with a $629 million purchase of a three-percent stake in ASML. It’s joining Intel and TSMC in pumping money into the Dutch business, developing tooling for chip-making machines with Extra Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) designed to “extend Moore’s Law.” It’ll also help reduce the cost of future silicon, since it’ll enable the companies to use wider silicon wafers along the manufacturing line. Given that Samsung’s investment caps of a project to raise nearly $5 billion in cash and that ASML’s home is just five miles west of PSV Eindhoven’s stadium, we just hope they threw in a few home tickets for their trouble.
Continue reading Acronym-loving Samsung joins Intel and TSMC, buys stake in ASML
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets
Acronym-loving Samsung joins Intel and TSMC, buys stake in ASML originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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