AU Optronics


AU Optronics is a company in Taiwan that specialises in optoelectronic solutions. It was formed in September 2001 by the merger of Acer Display Technology, Inc. and Unipac Optoelectronics Corporation. AUO offers display panel products and solutions, and in recent years expanded its business to smart retail, smart transportation, general health, solar energy, circular economy and smart manufacturing service.
AUO employs 40,000 people.

History

In September 2012, AUO was sentenced to pay a US$500 million criminal fine for its participation in a five-year conspiracy to fix the prices of thin-film transistor LCD panels sold worldwide. Its American subsidiary and two former top executives were also sentenced. The two executives were sentenced to prison and fined for their roles in the conspiracy. The $500 million fine matches the largest fine imposed against a company for violating U.S. antitrust laws. In July 2014, the Ninth Circuit rejected AUO's appeal of the fine.

Shareholding and subsidiaries