Japan Display eyes $470 mln fundraising including new share issue

Embattled liquid crystal display (LCD) maker Japan Display Inc said its board will discuss on Friday a plan to raise 50 billion yen ($470 million), including more than 30 billion yen through a third-party allotment of new shares.
The fundraising, which Japan Display said would also include a sale of assets, underscores the challenges being faced by the company as it stares at a fourth straight year of net losses and struggles in its search for a global partnership.
The firm’s woes stem from its delayed adoption of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens that has cost the display maker orders from customers such as Apple Inc, which opted to use OLED screens for its high-end iPhone X, buying components from Samsung Electronics.
Japan Display will turn to investment from domestic and overseas funds for now to shore up its finances, national broadcaster NHK reported earlier in the day. The display maker has previously said it wants to start mass-producing OLED screens to better compete with South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, and that it needs capital to do so.
Japan Display, formed in 2012 by combining the LCD businesses of Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp, has been making half its revenue selling LCDs to Apple. Shares in Japan Display were down 1 percent in Friday morning trade, under performing a 1 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei average.