For those unfamiliar with Renesas Electronics, they are a Japanese company who also owns a majority stake in Renesas SP Drivers, a division which makes display chips used in Apple products. Back in April, it was rumored that Apple was interested in acquiring the majority stake in Renesas SP Drivers to help bolster its supply chain, but now according to reports, that deal could have fallen through.
Instead, the reports are claiming that Renesas Electronics will be selling their majority stake to Synaptics, another smartphone chip supplier. It is unclear as to why Renesas has chosen to go with Synaptics over Apple, but those are the company’s plans for now. The deal has yet to be finalized, but it seems that that is the direction that Renesas will be headed.
Renesas has a 55% stake in the SP Drivers division, while Sharp has a 25% stake, with the remainder 20% belonging to Taiwan’s Powerchip. Sharp is also expected to sell off their stake once Renesas has made an agreement with Synaptics, although it was not mentioned if they will also be selling it to Synaptics, or if Apple will be able to purchase at least a 25% stake in the company via Sharp. The deal was valued at $479 million.
It is also unclear as to what this could mean for Apple. Like we mentioned earlier, Apple’s interest in the company was because they wanted a tighter control over their supply chain, but now that the deal has fallen through, will be business as usual at Apple? Or will Apple be exploring other options in the meantime?
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