TPV, Inventec in $20 mln JV to make desktop PCs

TAIPEI Oct 15 (Reuters) - Top global PC monitor maker TPV Technology (0903.HK) will team up with contract laptop PC maker Inventec (2356.TW) in a $20 million joint venture to make all-in-one desktop computers, the companies said on Thursday.

TPV (TPVH.SI) will hold a 51 percent stake in the new firm, and Taiwan's Inventec will take the remaining 49 percent, as both companies look for new revenue streams to maintain growth in a sector where selling prices are falling rapidly.

"We entered a non-binding term sheet with Inventec this morning," TPV's Director of Corporate Finance Shane Tyau said in a written reply.

"The plan is to set up a JV to make all-in-one PC on an ODM (original design manufacturing) basis for our broad customer base."

All-in-one desktop PCs were first popularised by Apple's APPL.O iMac, and have become increasingly common as more brands turn away from the standard set-up of a central processing unit and a separate monitor.

After the announcement, Inventec shares were up 0.24 percent, lagging the benchmark TAIEX .TWII share index's 0.6 percent advance. In Hong Kong, TPV shares were up more than 2 percent, beating the 1.23 percent advance on the Hang Seng .HSI.

Both companies declined to comment on production or shipment figures, but analysts said the size of the all-in-one desktop sector remains small with about 5 million units sold annually.

"It's not a big market, and this joint venture is probably more to get themselves into the market first so that they can ramp up production when the time calls for it," said Calvin Huang, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.

TPV and Inventec are both contract manufacturers and key suppliers to top PC brands such as HP (HPQ.N) and Dell (DELL.O), which typically do their own design work and outsource the manufacturing process. (Reporting by Kelvin Soh, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)