A lot has changed in the past 10 years in regards to the technological powerhouses of the market. Japan, which used to be the dominant force for all this technology, including consumer hardware and manufacturing goods like parts for other companies, has now fallen behind. American companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon currently own the consumer market while LG and Samsung from South Korea continue to dominate the manufacturing industry.

If a Japanese-government-backed investment fund is to have its way, all of this will change in the near future. The proposition is for Sony and Toshiba to merge their LCD manufacturing business which has fallen behind to Sharp and Foxconn when it comes to mass production of smaller screens for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This means that Sony Mobile Display and Toshiba Mobile Display will cease to exist and a new company will be formed in the wake of the event. What’s interesting about the deal is that neither company would then hold a majority share, instead seeing that the investment fund take control of 70-80% of the entity while Sony and Toshiba divide the rest. With such a consolidation, both companies could then streamline their R&D and focus on a post-LCD world in which OLED will be the dominate screen offering.

Do you think such a merger, backed by the government, would help evolve and even out the playing field for future LCD and OLED screens? Other examples of companies with government backing include GM, Chrysler, and Airbus.

[Via CrunchGear]