UPDATE 3-AU Optronics, CEO indicted in U.S. for price-fixing

* Conspiracy alleged to fix thin-film display prices

* Six executives indicted

* Six companies have pleaded guilty in probe

* AU sees no material impact currently

* AU shares rise 3 pct (Adds AU and analyst comment, share reaction)

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - AU Optronics Corp (2409.TW), a Taiwanese maker of liquid crystal display panels, and its CEO Lai-Juh Chen, were among those indicted for conspiring to fix prices, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

U.S. prosecutors allege AU Optronics and a U.S. subsidiary were involved in a conspiracy from 2001 to 2006 to fix the prices of thin-film LCD panels. The U.S. probe is part of a long-running investigation that has seen six other companies plead guilty.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco also names five other AU Optronics executives, including Hsuan Bin Chen, former president and now board vice chairman.

In a statement issued in Taiwan on Friday, AU said it was disappointed by the action.

"AUO believes the facts of the case do not warrant such charges, as shown, among others, by the intense competition within the industry which has benefited consumers, as shown by the steep decline in prices over the years for TFT-LCD panels."

It said it saw no material impact on the company's normal operations.

Its Taipei shares rose more than 3 percent on Friday, focused more on a robust outlook for flat panel demand, especially from China, which could soon become the world's largest TV consumer.

"It's not that big a shock because they have already hinted that there would be an indictment," said Dennis Wang, an analyst at IBT Securities in Taiwan. "Even if the company had to change top managers, there would not be much impact on it."

Thin-film LCDs are used in computer screens, TVs and mobile phones, among other devices. Major makers in Asia have reported brisk demand as economies recover, and AU returned to profit in the first quarter as demand boosted sales and prices.

However, IBT's Wang noted that price competition could intensify as companies would not be able to control pricing so well with U.S. authorities watching.

AU has already taken provisions of about $300 million to cover the costs of the case.

The six companies which have pleaded guilty in the probe have racked up fines totaling more than $860 million, the Justice Department said. Eleven of their executives have been indicted.

The companies that have pleaded guilty include Taiwan's Chi Mei (3481.TW) and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (2475.TW), South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd (034220.KS) and Japan's Sharp Corp (6753.T).

Epson Imaging Devices Corp, a unit of Seiko Epson Corp (6724.T), and Hitachi Displays have also pleaded guilty.

AU Optronics executives were among those from four Taiwanese LCD makers who met in a Taipei hotel room in September 2001 where they decided to meet once a month to fix prices for the thin-film LCDs, according to the indictment.

Later that month, another meeting was held in another Taipei hotel that included the four LCD makers from Taiwan and two Korean competitors, who agreed to join regular meetings to exchange price information, the indictment said.

In May 2005, after about four years of regular meetings, the executives feared one or two major LCD customers had begun to suspect the meetings, so the companies started sending lower level sales executives to the gatherings, the indictment said.

In 2006, again concerned about detection, the executives from the six firms began getting together in restaurants, exchanging information in one-on-one meetings, the indictment said.

Once news broke of a U.S. investigation into LCD price-fixing, the indictment said representatives of AU Optronics Corp America attempted to destroy evidence that they had been in contact with rivals. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Diane Bartz, and Argin Chang in TAIPEI; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Ian Geoghegan)