Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp are in talks to combine their units that make small and mid-size LCD panels for smartphones and tablet computers, and may sell a stake in the new entity to the Japanese government for about $1.2 billion, sources said. The new unit would overtake Sharp Corp as the leading maker of small liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels, and comes as others in the industry have teamed up to tap the burgeoning market for high-tech portable devices. In addition, the selling of a stake in the unit to the government would help industrial conglomerate Toshiba and consumer electronics giant Sony to focus on their core businesses, industry watchers said. "This should be a good move for both companies since it will allow them to invest more in their core businesses, as well as enjoy a collaboration through the merger of their (non-core) small LCD panel operations," said Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo.
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