Canon eyes majority stake in 'organic' Tokki

Canon Inc. said Tuesday it will try to acquire a majority stake in Tokki Corp. in an attempt to strengthen its development of displays employing organic light-emitting diode technology.

Canon will launch a friendly tender offer of ¥556 per Tokki share from Wednesday to Dec. 12.

Canon, the world's leading maker of copiers, printers and cameras, is aiming to acquire at least a 15.87 percent stake in Tokki, a leading Japanese OLED production equipment maker, via the tender offer.

If the tender offer successful, Canon said it will also buy shares newly issued by Tokki for ¥417 each to raise its total stake in Tokki to 51.46 percent.

The Tokyo-based company will spend a total of ¥7.6 billion to obtain the targeted stake.

Canon is aiming to enter the TV market with sets using surface-conduction electron-emitter displays, also known as SEDs.

In May, however, Canon said it was postponing the launch of the next-generation TVs due to a patent dispute in the United States.

Competition for the commercialization of OLED TVs is intensifying among major consumer electronics makers.

In October, Sony Corp. said it will start selling an 11-inch OLED TV in December in Japan, the technology's world commercial debut.

OLED technology will pave the way for production of slimmer TVs because it does not require a backlight to emit light.

A TV with a self-luminous OLED display also consumes less power while reportedly offering more vivid colors.

Canon said it has not yet decided whether to enter the TV market with OLED technology.

Tokki, listed on the Jasdaq Securities Exchange, has been struggling with business difficulties in recent years.

The company has incurred a group net loss for the last three years.

The planned tieup will help improve the business conditions of both Canon and Tokki, the two companies said.