- 23 February 2005 -

TI sells large size TFT LCD operation

Texas Instruments is to sell Oki Electric Industry TI's large-size thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (LCD) driver operations.

Under the agreement, TI plans to complete the transfer of this Japan-based semiconductor product line to Oki by the end of March 2005. About 50 employees from TI's operations in Japan will transfer to Oki.

Oki will take ownership of the business, which designs integrated circuits that drive LCD displays with a diagonal size of 5" upwards. Exact timing of the transition depends on relevant government approvals.

"We believe this transaction will enable TI to continue to sharpen our focus on proprietary analog products, "said C.S. Lee, TI senior VP and manager of high-volume analog and logic products.

The sale does not affect TI's other display products such as plasma display panel drivers, colour cell phone driver/controllers or LCD panel timing controllers.