According to the publication Nikkei, citing anonymous sources, Apple is in talks with Renesas Electronics on the possibility of acquiring a stake in a joint venture Renesas SP Drivers, whose founders are also Sharp and Powerchip. This company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of controllers for LCD screens of small and medium-sized and controls about a third of the market, said the Nikkei.
In Renesas SP Drivers, Sharp owns 25% stake in the company, Powerchip owns 20%. Apple plans to buy stake in Renesas (55%) for 50 billion yen ($ 479 million), and the deal could be closed by the summer. What is interesting, Sharp is also ready to sell their shares Renesas SP Drivers.
Apparently, Apple is going to independently control the process of developing the key components of LCD screens, as the quality of the displayed image plays an important role in smartphone sales.