Hitachi to join Toshiba-Sony LCD panel merger

(Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd wants to join the ongoing talks between Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp to combine their units that make small and mid-size LCD panels, the Nikkei business daily reported. Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi aim to reach an agreement in July and the newly created LCD unit could be launched as early as this year, the paper said. 

On June 7, Reuters reported citing sources that Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp are in talks to combine their units that make small and mid-size LCD panels for smartphones and tablet computers and may sell a stake in the new entity to the Japanese government for about $1.2 billion. The public-private partnership Innovation Network Corp of Japan, or INCJ, is likely to invest about 200 billion yen ($2.47 billion)for about a 70 percent stake consisting of preferred and common shares, Nikkei said, adding that the three companies would then split the remaining interest.