Apple in talks to buy Renesas's chip designing unit: Report

Apple in talks to buy Renesas's chip designing unit: Report

Apple is in talks to buy Renesas Electronics's stake in a unit that designs LCD chips for iPhones for about $483 million.

Apple is in talks to buy Japan-based Renesas Electronics's stake in a unit that designs Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) chips for iPhones for about 50 billion yen ($483 million), the Nikkei reported, without identifying a source.

Renesas owns 55% stake in Renesas SP Drivers, its joint venture with Sharp and Powerchip.

Apple expects to complete the stake purchase by summer, the business daily reported.

The US 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, Nikkei said.

Sharp, which owns 25% in Renesas SP, is expected to sell its stake to Apple if the US company asks, the newspaper said.

Renesas has been hit by slowing orders and competition from companies such as Samsung Electronics.

The Japanese company received a 150 billion yen bailout from a government-led fund and its major customers in September to counter an earlier bid by US private equity firm KKR & Co.