Samsung spins off LCD TV business

Samsung has been given the go-ahead to spin off its LCD television business as Samsung Display.The company had mooted the plan earlier in the year and has now confirmed that it will launch Samsung Display on April 1 as a new entity, separate from Samsung's core businesses. "The spin-off will allow us to make quicker business decisions and respond to our clients' needs more swiftly," said Samsung's LCD business head Donggun Park. "Through enhancements in business competitiveness, we will continue to provide superior products and services for the market." Pixels stuck? LCD is a huge part of Samsung's massive television business, but it is increasingly clear that technology is moving on, and the Korean firm could stand to suffer. It's illustrative that Samsung Display will not be dealing with OLED panels, a technology which is most likely to be the next step in televisions. Both Samsung and its rival LG showed off 55-inch OLED televisions at CES 2012, and, although pricey at the moment, it is likely that it won't be long until we see cheaper mass-market versions. In the meantime, Samsung Display will continue to compete in the still-huge LCD market, once removed from its parent company as it looks to future-proof itself.