TCL Group has announced that it is the preferred bidder to acquire the plant LG Display in Guangzhou. Its subsidiary TCL CSOT will enter into exclusive negotiations with LG Display to finalize the deal. According to TrendForce forecasts, this acquisition could significantly increase TCL CSOT’s influence in the market, bringing the combined market share of China’s top three LCD TV panel manufacturers to nearly 70%.
The acquisition of LG Display’s Guangzhou plant will enable TCL CSOT to accelerate the production of large-size TV panels, in line with TCL’s strategy to expand its market share by leveraging the additional resources acquired through this transaction.
TrendForce expects Sharp’s Gen10 production line shutdown in 2025, along with the integration of TCL CSOT’s acquisition of LG Display’s plant, to contribute to an industry shakeup in the coming year. LG Display’s decision to sell its Guangzhou plant is partly driven by financial pressures impacting its investments in the OLED market. The sale is expected to provide LG Display with the capital it needs to refocus its investments and better meet the needs of its key customers.
LG Display has been considering exiting the LCD market to focus on OLED panel production for several months now, with reports first arriving in May. In 2021, Samsung also sold its LCD panel manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China to TCL for $1.08 billion. LG Display, for its part, stopped producing LCD panels in Korea in 2022.
Korean companies, however, maintain a strong competitive advantage in the OLED market, accounting for 74.2% of global OLED sales in 2023, according to the Korea Display Industry Association. In the large-size OLED panel segment, such as those for televisions, Korean companies accounted for 96.1% of global sales in 2023.
What do you think of this decision?
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