UPDATE 2-Canon to take majority stake in Tokki for $69 mln
(Adds with Canon announcement)
TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Canon Inc (7751.T) said it aims to take a majority stake in Tokki Corp (9813.Q), a supplier of flat panel-making equipment, for $69 million or more to speed development of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.
Canon has been developing OLED panels in a bid to replace liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, which it now procures from outside suppliers for digital camera, camcorder and printer displays.
Canon is the world's largest digital camera maker competing with Sony Corp (6758.T) and Olympus Corp (7733.T), while Tokki is the world's No.1 maker of tools used to make OLED displays.
Canon will offer 556 yen per share in a tender offer planned for 20 working days between Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, aiming to buy at least 3.07 million shares. The offer price is at a 22 percent premium over Tokki's closing price on Tuesday.
The Tokyo-based company also plans to buy 14.2 million new Tokki shares in a third-party allocation, paying 417 yen per share.
In total, Canon aims to take at least a 51 stake in Tokki for 7.6 billion yen ($69 million) or more.
OLED displays use organic, or carbon-containing, compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. Unlike LCD panels, they do not need backlighting, making OLED panels slimmer and more energy-efficient.
OLED panels also offer bright colours and images that are easy to see outdoors, an ideal trait for camera displays.
Canon said it may offer small-sized flat TVs using OLED displays in the future.
For the large-sized TV market, Canon has been developing another type of flat panel TVs based on surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) technology.
Ahead of the announcement, shares in Canon closed down 1.3 percent at 5,360 yen, while Tokki was down 1.5 percent at 456 yen, underperforming the Nikkei average .N225, which fell 0.5 percent. ($1=110.09 Yen) (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Edwina Gibbs; Editing by Malcolm Whittaker)
