Notice regarding Civil Rehabilitation Filing and Execution of Basic Agreement on Sponsor’s Support
March 27, 2023
To whom it may concern,
3-23, Kandanishiki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
JOLED Inc.
Tadashi Ishibashi, Representative Director and President
Notice regarding Civil Rehabilitation Filing
and Execution of Basic Agreement on Sponsor’s Support
We, JOLED Inc. (“JOLED” or “we”), hereby announce that we resolved to file a petition to commence civil rehabilitation proceedings at the Board of Directors meeting held today, and that we then filed a petition for the proceedings with the Tokyo District Court, which was accepted on the same day. The Court issued a provisional order prohibiting the payment of debt and a supervision order, and Mr. Eiji Katayama, attorney-at-law of ABE, IKUBO & KATAYAMA, was appointed as the supervisor.
We also announce that we have executed a “Basic Agreement” regarding support for the rehabilitation of our Technology Development Business with Japan Display Inc. (the “JDI ”) today.
We deeply apologize for the significant trouble and concerns this filing may cause to our customers and related persons. We remain fully committed to and are focused on reviving our business under the supervision of the Court and the supervisor, and your understanding and support would be highly appreciated.
JOLED started operating in January 2015, combining the OLED display development divisions of Sony Corporation and Panasonic Corporation with the goal of accelerating the mass production development and commercialization of OLED displays. Thereafter, in November 2019, we started to operate the world’s first mass production line of printed OLED displays at our Nomi Site. We produce high-performance and high-quality OLED displays for use in products such as high-end monitors, medical monitors, automotive displays, etc. At the same time, we have carried out R&D on flexible and foldable displays for practical use.
Unfortunately, achieving stable production was more costly and time consuming than we expected. Also, in addition to the effects of the global semiconductor shortage, due to a weakened demand for high-performance and high-quality displays, and severe price competition, the circumstances in which we find ourselves are worsening, profits remain sluggish, and there has been a continuing outflow of funds. In light of these circumstances, we have conducted fundraising several times and made efforts to improve profitability. At the same time, we have continued to seek a sponsor to support our business. However, it became difficult to obtain a sponsor’s support without resorting to legal proceedings, and even with such proceedings, to continue the product business assuming continued production at the Nomi Site and Chiba Site. We expect that if we continue the business on our own, it would be difficult to raise the money we require to withdraw from production at the Nomi Site and Chiba Site, and this may cause a significant detriment to the people in those areas. Therefore, we have determined that it would be most appropriate to pursue rehabilitation under the supervision of the Court, and we have had no choice but to file a petition for the commencement of civil rehabilitation proceedings.
As stated above, JOLED executed a “Basic Agreement” with JDI and agreed to accept a sponsor’s support of our Technology Development Business. JDI is engaged in the development, design, manufacture and sales of display devices and related products on a global scale, and in the research and development of cutting-edge display technologies. From now on, we plan to rebuild our Technology Development Business with the support of JDI.
In the meantime, tremendous funds are required to maintain and continue our Product Business (manufacturing and sales divisions); however, there is no process in motion to promptly and drastically improve profitability, and it would be difficult for us to continue the business. Thus, we have decided to withdraw from the business. We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience this may cause to our customers who plan to purchase our products.
Again, we remain fully committed to and are focused on reviving our business under the supervision of the Court and the supervisor, and your understanding and support would be highly appreciated.
・Telephone number: (+81) 3-5280-1600
・Facsimile number: (+81) 3-5280-1604
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