Rival in TVs, Supplier in Panels: Samsung Takes Direct Stake in TCL CSOT

[Korea Financial Times, Gwak Horyung] Samsung Electronics will hold a direct stake in China’s TCL CSOT. It is taking over the 10.16 percent holding owned by its subsidiary Samsung Display for KRW 1.2718 trillion. Unlike Samsung Display, which has exited the LCD business, Samsung Electronics continues to source LCD panels externally for its TV and monitor operations. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen cooperation by securing an equity link with CSOT, one of its main suppliers.

Samsung Electronics disclosed on the 30th of last month that it will acquire Samsung Display’s entire 10.16 percent stake in TCL CSOT. The transaction is valued at KRW 1.2718 trillion (USD 960.37 million), and the stated purpose is “strengthening strategic collaboration.” The board approved the deal on the 29th of last month, and payment is scheduled for December after domestic and overseas regulatory approvals. The deal is not a new investment injecting fresh capital into CSOT. It is an intra-group transfer of assets between affiliates, in which only the holder of the stake changes.

The reason Samsung Electronics wants to hold the CSOT stake directly appears to lie in the panel procurement structure of its TV business. Samsung Electronics sources the LCD panels needed to produce TVs and monitors from outside suppliers. QLED TVs, which use quantum dot technology, are also built on LCD panels. Its purchases of display panels for TVs and monitors in the first half of 2026 came to KRW 3.9607 trillion, and the main suppliers included CSOT and SDP.

CSOT is the display affiliate of TCL Group, a rival to Samsung Electronics in the finished-TV market. TCL competes with Samsung Electronics in TVs while producing panels through CSOT. The two are rivals in finished products but partners in the component supply chain. With the stake purchase, Samsung Electronics gains an equity link with a key panel supplier. At 10.16 percent, the holding signifies stronger cooperation rather than control of management.


The stake originated in Samsung Display’s winding down of its LCD business in China. When Samsung Display sold its LCD production unit and module unit in Suzhou in 2021, it received part of the consideration in CSOT shares instead of cash. The acquisition cost at the time was KRW 848.9 billion. In 2022, the company withdrew from LCD panel production and restructured its business around OLED. After the exit from LCD, the CSOT stake had less to do with Samsung Display’s existing business. For Samsung Electronics, which must keep procuring LCD panels, the stake retained its business value.

For Samsung Display, the sale is a chance to clear out an investment asset with diminished business relevance and to secure liquidity. The sale price of KRW 1.2718 trillion is KRW 422.9 billion higher than the original acquisition cost. The fair value of the CSOT stake reflected in Samsung Electronics’ consolidated financial statements was KRW 1.6808 trillion at the end of 2025 and KRW 2.0918 trillion at the end of June 2026. The actual transaction price is therefore below the most recent book valuation but above the original acquisition cost. By converting the stake it has held since leaving the LCD business into cash, Samsung Display secures funds for its OLED-centered restructuring.

Separately, Samsung Display and CSOT are engaged in litigation in the United States over OLED patents. Samsung Display filed a patent infringement suit against CSOT in 2025, and CSOT filed a countersuit. The two companies thus maintain a complex relationship: they are locked in legal battles over next-generation OLED technology while still cooperating in the supply chain for LCD panels, a core product.

Gwak Horyung (horr@fntimes.com)