Taiwan's Innolux unit buys former Japanese TV major Pioneer for $1.1 billion
Pioneer was once a major Japanese player in consumer electronics, whose decline presaged the broader industry shake-up to come as Japanese manufacturers were unable to keep with larger, more efficient producers like South Korea's Samsung Electronics.
CarUX said it has signed a definitive agreement with EQT, a global investment firm, to acquire a 100 per cent stake in the Japanese electronics company.
The deal is expected to increase CarUX's presence in the Asia-Pacific region and broaden its global product portfolio by combining its display and touch technology expertise with Pioneer's strengths in automotive sound system and Human Machine Interface (HMI) software development, the company said in a statement.
"This acquisition brings strategic synergies for both CarUX and Pioneer," Innolux and CarUX Chairman Jim Hung said in a statement.
CarUX said in March that it is planning a listing in the United States.
Pioneer has long-standing partnerships with major Japanese and global automakers, including Toyota.
Its president and CEO, Shiro Yahara, said it looks forward to collaborating with CarUX to "create the future of mobility experiences".
Hung added at a press conference that Pioneer generated revenue of 240 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2024 and maintains a healthy financial structure, which is one of the key factors enabling the deal.
Pioneer launched the world's first plasma TV in 1997 and briefly found success in the high-end segment.
Pioneer was acquired in 2018 by Baring Private Equity Asia in a deal for $900 million, leading to its delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Baring was later acquired by Sweden-based EQT AB in 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: Espionage and tariffs can't tarnish TSMC's crown
TOKYO: An attempt to steal trade secrets from the world's largest chipmaker and renewed tariff threats on semiconductors are bending Taiwan's 'silicon shield'. But it's not breaking just yet. Still, heavy is the head of TSMC, whose technology everybody wants a piece of. Less than a day after news broke that TSMC fired several employees for a suspected attempt to obtain critical information on its cutting-edge manufacturing, US President Donald Trump threatened new chip tariffs 'of approximately 100 per cent'. On Thursday, Taiwan confirmed that TSMC is exempt from the latest levies due to its investments in the US. But Trump still sowed a lot of confusion after stating in an interview earlier this week that Taiwan was 'coming over and spending US$300 billion in Arizona, building the biggest plant in the world'. TSMC had previously only committed US$165 billion, suggesting negotiations might not be over. Trump likely realized that new, sky-high tariffs on TSMC would be a blow to US tech ambitions. Domestic titans at the heart of maintaining America's lead over China, such as Nvidia and Apple, are TSMC's biggest customers. And fresh levies would be an own-goal for the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure plans Trump announced earlier this year, which rely on hundreds of thousands of advanced chips. The news of a tariff reprieve helped drive TSMC's shares to a record on Thursday. TSMC's multi-billion-dollar expansion efforts in the US haven't always gone over well at home. Some patriotic Taiwanese want the chipmaker to keep core technologies within the self-ruled island as a safeguard from potential Beijing aggression. But expanding manufacturing to the US will only strengthen Taiwan's alliance with Washington and give its footprint room to grow. It's also worth recognising that TSMC and Silicon Valley are on the same side when it comes to countering China. MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS OVER LEAK Still, tariffs may not be the company's biggest headache. The potential corporate espionage is far more than a run-of-the-mill commercial intellectual property theft. It's being investigated under Taiwan's national security law and has the potential to spiral into a broader geopolitical spat. At this stage, there are more questions than answers. The scope of the leak, the perpetrator and the motive haven't been disclosed. Still, TSMC has said it was able to identify the issue 'early'. On Thursday, Tokyo Electron confirmed that a former employee was involved in the case, though said an internal probe hadn't found evidence of the confidential information being shared with a third party. Local prosecutors have made half a dozen arrests, and the people involved were reportedly targeting information on the company's 2-nanometer production – the most advanced chip manufacturing technology in the world. Besides TSMC, there are only three other companies that are actively trying to mass produce the cutting-edge chips: Samsung, Intel and Japan's long-shot startup Rapidus. Many of them rely on the same suppliers, such as Tokyo Electron. Acquiring the critical know-how for smaller chip node production can cost tens of billions of dollars in research and development. There are other reasons so few firms are capable of attempting this. Even with the R&D knowledge, it still requires massive investments in fabrication plants and tooling equipment, as well as access to a very limited supply of trained engineers to compete at scale. Taiwan and TSMC have spent decades building this foundation, and there aren't clear shortcuts to leapfrog the company's dominance – even unethical ones. Countries and companies have poured billions trying to eclipse TSMC's virtual monopoly on advanced chipmaking, but these hard-won gains can't be spread (or stolen) overnight. The firm is also no stranger to talent poaching and other attempts at IP theft; it's a systemic issue in an industry where the strategic importance is so high. The most recent case is spurring international whodunnit intrigue, but more importantly it shows that the company has beefed up internal security protocols to rapidly respond. CRUCIAL FOR TSMC TO MAINTAIN ITS EDGE It can't be overstated how important it is for TSMC to maintain its technology edge. Some 24 per cent of the most-recent quarterly revenue came from its 3-nanometer tech. Demand is already high for the company's next-generation nodes, set to go into mass production later this year. TSMC's dominance gives it the power to set prices at a time when the foreign exchange rate is unfavourable and trade uncertainty looms. This tech advantage has not just proven crucial for TSMC's business. It is giving Taiwan's government leverage via so-called semiconductor diplomacy. The potential leak gives new fuel to critics of President Lai Ching-te, who has had a rough few weeks. As the first chips-related case involving the National Security Act, it's imperative that authorities investigate and respond to the fullest extent of the law. Taipei must set a precedent with this case to deter any future attempts. As my colleague Howard Chua-Eoan has written, history shows us that technological secrets and monopolies have a hard time staying that way in the long run. For now, TSMC is selling the shovels during a global AI gold rush. Even tariff threats and espionage attempts can't tarnish its crown just yet.
CNA
18 hours ago
- CNA
Analysis:Trump call to oust Intel CEO Tan could sidetrack chipmaker's turnaround
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is already facing an uphill battle in turning around the ailing chipmaker. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump's demand that Tan resign over his ties to Chinese firms will only distract him from that task, two investors and a former senior employee said. Trump said on Thursday that Tan was "highly conflicted" due to his Chinese connections. Reuters reported exclusively in April that Tan had invested in hundreds of Chinese firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military. Tan may now have to mount an effort to reassure Trump that he remains the right person to revive the storied American chipmaker, pulling his focus away from the cost cuts he's trying to implement. "It is distracting," said Ryuta Makino, analyst at Intel investor Gabelli Funds, which, according to LSEG data, owns more than 200,000 shares in Intel. "I think Trump will make goals for Intel to spend more, and I don't think Intel has the capabilities to spend more, like what Apple and Nvidia are doing." AI chip market leader Nvidia and iPhone-maker Apple have committed hundreds of billions of dollars to expand domestic manufacturing, which, according to Trump, will bring jobs back home. Until recently, Intel had emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2022 CHIPS Act, as former CEO Pat Gelsinger laid out plans to build advanced chipmaking factories. Tan, however, has significantly pared back such ambitions, as the company's goal of rivaling Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC's contract manufacturing chops have fallen short. Tan said last month that he would slow construction work on new factories in Ohio and planned to build factories only when he saw demand for Intel's chips, a move that is likely to further strain relations with Trump. The company, its board and Tan were making significant investments aligned with Trump's America First agenda, Intel said in a statement on Thursday, without any mention of Trump's demand. The statement was "bland", said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Intel shareholder Aptus Capital Advisors, which owns Intel stock through index funds. "Either defend your leader, which will be the beginning of a difficult road ahead, or consider making a change," Wagner said. Having this play out over a few months is not something that Intel can afford, he said. Tan himself released a statement late on Thursday. "The United States has been my home for more than 40 years. I love this country and am profoundly grateful for the opportunities it has given me. I also love this company," he said, adding that the board was "fully supportive of the work we are doing to transform our company." "BUILT ON TRUST" Tan, a chip industry veteran, took the helm at Intel about six months ago, after the board ousted previous boss Pat Gelsinger over years of missteps and burgeoning losses. The company's shares are largely flat this year after losing nearly two-thirds of their value last year. Tan was the CEO of chip-design software maker Cadence Design from 2008 through December 2021. Cadence last month agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $140 million to resolve charges for selling its products to a Chinese military university believed to be involved in simulating nuclear blasts, Reuters reported. The sales to Chinese entities occurred under his leadership. Reuters reported on Wednesday that U.S. Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel's board chair with questions about Tan's ties to Chinese firms and the criminal case involving Cadence. "There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about my past roles," Tan said in his statement on Thursday. "I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards. My reputation has been built on trust," he said. It is not illegal for U.S. citizens to hold stakes in Chinese companies unless those companies have been added to the U.S. Treasury's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, which explicitly bans such investments. Reuters in April had found no evidence that Tan at the time was invested directly in any company on that list. But Trump's remarks have now forced the limelight on an issue that could erode investor confidence. "If you add in another layer of government scrutiny, and everybody looking into how the company is doing whatever it's doing ... that just makes it harder," said a former senior executive at Intel, who was familiar with the company's strategy under Gelsinger. The source, who declined to be named, was let go as part of Gelsinger's workforce reduction drive last year. Tan's strategy is to "get rid of all of the non-productive parts of the company and really focus on a key few products," the person said. "If (Tan) leaves, it's going to just prolong whatever Intel has to do and needs to do really quickly."
CNA
19 hours ago
- CNA
SoftBank buys Foxconn's Ohio plant to jumpstart Stargate AI push, Bloomberg News reports
SoftBank Group Corp is acquiring Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio, in a move to launch the Japanese company's $500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle Corp, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
