Hitachi's president recently confirmed that the company has been in talks with Taiwanese EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Service) maker Foxconn and other companies about a possible tie-up, the United Daily News of Taiwan reported on December 27. Should the agreement be reached between these two parties, Foxconn will inject capital worth US$1.2 billion that Hitachi requires for the expansion of its LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel business and will become the major shareholder in Hitachi Display. Through the tie-up, the combined share of Hitachi and Foxconn will shoulder 15.5% of the total LCD shipment value, making them one of the largest small- and medium-sized LCD panel suppliers in the world. Under the agreement, Hitachi will be able to build a new display plant in Japan while manufacturing small- and medium-sized screen for Foxconn's clients. The capitalization of US$1.2 billion will be equally injected in 2011 and 2012.

Currently, Hitachi owns 75.1% stakes in Hitachi Display, while Canon holds the remaining stakes of 24.9%. Should Foxconn successfully acquire stakes in Hitachi Display, Hitachi's stakes will reduce to around 30%, according again to the United Daily News. Hitachi was not immediately available for comment and neither was Foxconn. Further details, however, were not yet known.