It has been report by various news websites that Denso Corp. will invest ¥30 billion (US$ 282million) in JOLED Inc. Denso and JOLED are expected to work together to develop in-vehicle OLED panel products, such as electronic mirrors, according to an the unnamed sources the news reports said.
Denso will take a roughly 15% interest through a private placement of new shares, becoming one of the biggest stockholders after the state-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan. Japan Display also holds a 15% stake in JOLED.
A total of ¥20 billion’s worth of investment is being planned from Panasonic, Sony, Sumitomo Chemical and Screen Holdings - each expected to invest ¥5 billion.
If JOLED reaches its target of securing ¥100 billion in capital, Denso's voting power over the Tokyo-based company may reach close to that of Japan Display, which holds 15 percent of the voting rights at present.
JOLED is hoping to secure investors of the remaining ¥50 billion at an early date. Using the fresh capital, the company aims to start mass-producing OLED panels at a Japan Display plant in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, by the end of 2019.
JOLED is aiming to produce OLED products at lower costs and more efficiently than under existing technologies.
JOLED and Denso plan to develop displays for digital dashboards and mirror camera systems. Panels that use organic light-emitting diodes can be made into more complex shapes than liquid crystal displays and can be better customised for the interior of a car.