Japan LCD screen giant plans $4 bn share sale

Japan Display, the world's biggest maker of screens for smart phones and tablet computers, on Monday announced details of a share offering that could raise up to $4.0 billion. The firm, which counts Apple and Sony as customers, said it would list its shares in Tokyo on March 19, the exchange's biggest offering so far this year after Suntory's food-and-beverage unit raised $3.9 billion in 2013. The liquid crystal display maker said it would sell 140 million new shares at a price range of between 900 yen and 1,100 yen, while its major private shareholders are to sell 213.9 million shares. If an over-allotment of 18 million shares is also sold, the value of the deal could reach 409 billion yen ($4.0 billion). The sale by Japan Display, which was set up 2012 through the merger of Hitachi, Toshiba and Sony's money-losing LCD units, comes as it looks to boost production of small and medium-sized screens in the face of tough competition from South Korean and Taiwanese rivals, according to AFP.