According to Reuters, three sources said that South Korea’s LG Display will start supplying high-end TV panels to Samsung Electronics as early as this quarter. The deal will help turn around loss-making LG Display.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said LG Display aims to supply 2 million units next year and boost shipments to 3 million and 5 million units in subsequent years, with Samsung likely to initially supply 77-inch and 83-inch white OLED (WOLED) TV panel.
With this deal, Samsung may surpass Sony to become the world’s second-largest OLED TV maker. Analysts speculate that LG Display is in talks to supply OLED TV panels to new customers.
All sources declined to be named because the deal is private. Both LG Display and Samsung Electronics declined to comment.
Samsung Electronics has been slower than rival LG Electronics to develop OLED TVs, which the company believes are better suited for small devices such as smartphones and tablets, partly because OLED TVs are too expensive, the report said.
For LG Display, shipments of 2 million OLED panels will be a major boost, worth at least US$1.5 billion, accounting for its large-size OLED shipments, analysts said. 20% to 30% of total panel capacity, which would bring it to full capacity.
Samsung Electronics has its own display manufacturing unit, Samsung Display, which focuses on producing OLED screens for phones from brands like Apple and Samsung. Samsung currently ranks third in OLED TVs with a 6.1 percent market share, behind LG Electronics with 54.6 percent and Sony with 26.1 percent, according to market research firm Omdia.
