Apple is reportedly in talks to buy a majority stake in Renesas SP Drivers imaging chips firm. The firm has been designing LCD display chips for Apple for some time, and Apple is prepared to pay ¥50 billion (US$483 million) to buy the 55% stake of the company currently held by Renesas Electronics Corp. According to Nikkei:
Apple expects to complete the stake purchase by summer. The U.S. company "apparently wants to meld" the design of core display components into its overall product development as image quality becomes a crucial selling point for smartphones, the Nikkei said.
The other 45% of Renesas SP Drivers is owned by a combination of Sharp and Powerchip, holding 25% and 20% respectively. Sharp is apparently willing to sell their stake to Apple as well, if only Apple would ask — and that would be another ¥22 billion (US$220 million).
Apple has been progressively moving more and more of their chip design in-house, both in an effort to build more efficient and customized chips, as well as to move business away from rival Samsung.
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