Japanese display makers are joining forces to compete with South Korean rivals, as Japan Display is buying Joled, an OLED panel maker created through the merger of Panasonic's and Sony's OLED operations.

Japan Display will raise its stake in Joled from 15% to over 50% by the end of 2017 through stock purchases from the state-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, which now owns 75% of the venture, Nikkei reports.The deal's value is expected to top $100 million. Panasonic and Sony each own 5% of Joled.

Japan Display will also receive 75 billion yen ($650 million) from INCJ, its main shareholder, in order to grow both the liquid crystal display and organic light-emitting diode businesses.

Japan Display mainly produces LCDs for use in smartphones, car monitors and computers, while Joled is known for its midsize-to-large OLED panels.

Joled was founded in January 2015. It is developing a process for mass-producing cheap OLED panels for TVs, in addition to medical and other industrial uses.

Japan Display was created in 2012 through a merger of Hitachi's, Toshiba's and Sony's panel operations.