Consolidation it wasn't. But on Feb. 26, when Sony (SNE) said it would pick up part of the $3.5 billion tab for Sharp's (6753.T) planned TV-panel plant, it seemed that two of the world's biggest TV makers were finally admitting there are limits to the industry's frenzied expansion.
Of course, this being Japan, both consumer-electronics makers would argue that the "c" word doesn't apply. Indeed, Sharp President Mikio Katayama and Sony President Ryoji Chubachi stressed that their agreement was over joint ownership of a plant in Osaka and joint production of TV panels and other components, not any type of merger.
