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TCL Group officially announced on September 26th its plans to acquire 80% equity in LG Display’s 8.5-generation LCD panel plant in Guangzhou (including 10% previously held by Shenzhen Skyworth) and 100% equity of the module factory through its subsidiary, CSOT. The acquisition—with a base price of CNY 10.8 billion—includes the transfer of the necessary technology and support services to operate both facilities.
Guangzhou High-Tech Zone Technology Holding Group will retain the remaining 20% stake in LG Display’s Guangzhou plant. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. TrendForce believes this deal will push CSOT’s market share in large-generation LCD production capacity beyond 20%, solidifying its position as the second-largest player in the industry.
The 8.5-generation line at LG Display’s Guangzhou plant primarily produces TV panels. It’s expected to put out an estimated 14 million units in 2024, with more than half of those being 55-inch or larger products. TrendForce predicts that upon completion of the acquisition, CSOT will account for over a quarter of the global TV panel supply (by area), increasing the combined market share of the top three panel manufacturers to nearly 70%.
TrendForce also notes that more than half of LG Display Guangzhou’s clients are South Korean brands, many of which overlap with CSOT’s existing customer base. This raises challenges for CSOT in maintaining orders as customers may seek to balance their supply chains. From an industry perspective, the acquisition could lead to potential shifts in the supply chain. For instance, Samsung Electronics may expand its collaboration with BOE, or LG Electronics could deepen its partnership with CSOT.
Post-acquisition, one of CSOT’s key tasks will be optimizing the plant’s production costs within the next one to two years. As the company’s influence in the industry grows, there will also be increasing interest in whether its expanded production capacity can accelerate the shift to larger panel sizes—a critical factor for future supply-demand dynamics in the LCD TV panel market.
