Last month Patently Apple posted a report titled "Sharp's Terry Gou Deliberately Drops Samsung as a Customer & Sends Samsung into a Panic." The report noted that "Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry and Japanese subsidiary Sharp aim to take a huge leap in TV sales in 2018. In fact their goal is to double sales and in order to be able to do that Hon Hai has decided to tell Samsung that they have no interest in supplying LCD panels to them for TVs next year (2017). That news has sent Samsung into a panic and is now trying to strike a deal with rival LG." It was reported weeks later that Samsung was in talks with LG. Today we learn that Samsung is now suing Sharp for dropping them as customers.

A Korean report today states that "Samsung Electronics South Korea's tech giant, has filed a request for international arbitration against Sharp Corp. of Japan and two other panel makers, seeking US$492 million in compensation that it claims to be suffering from due to their halting of LCD panel supply.

According to the sources, Samsung has filed the request with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) demanding that they resume panel supply or compensate the loss.

Sharp, taken over by Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said earlier it would stop supplying LCD panels to the world's largest TV maker Samsung.

Samsung, which receives an average of 4 to 5 million LCD panels every year from Sharp, has been in negotiation with other LCD suppliers such as LG Display Co. to reduce any impact on its business.

The prices of LCD panels soared during the latter half of 2016 with demand for LCD panels during the first half of 2017 expected to be above the level expected for the usual off season, the sources said."

Patently Apple's December report had noted that "Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou has said that his company, working with Sharp, will be able to beat Samsung. Since Gou's sense of rivalry against the South Korean electronics giant is well known, Taiwan's news media have reported Sakai Display's decision as a possible 'declaration of war' against Samsung by the Foxconn group." Sakai Display is owned by Foxconn / Sharp.

So Samsung's striking out against Foxconn/Sharp is probably putting a smile on Terry Gou's face today knowing that his strike against Samsung has caused them maximum grief. Maybe it's just me, but I think that this recent news may also be putting a smile on some Apple fan faces today as they cheer on Apple's number one supplier.

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