Now Time To Say Apple's Spurned Screen Provider Closing Sapphire Factories

Diamonds are forever; sapphires, evidently, are not.

GT Advanced Technologies announced that it will cease sapphire glass production as part of a settlement agreement with Apple, GT announced in a press release.

The move comes after GT declared bankruptcy and announced major layoffs following news that Apple's iPhone 6 screens would not be made of sapphire glass.

GT took an upfront payment to provide Apple with the super-tough material, leading it to build out production capability in Salem, Massachusetts, and Mesa, Arizona. Those facilities will no longer produce sapphire glass.

As part of the agreement, GT will be released from all exclusivity obligations. Apple will be repaid $439 million in upfront payments over the next four years, without interest.

"We are pleased with the settlement that we have negotiated with Apple," said GT CEO Tom Gutierrez in the press release. "We realize that our filing for Chapter 11 protection has caused uncertainty and hardship for many of our important stakeholders. We have been working diligently to develop a restructuring plan that will allow us to emerge from Chapter 11 as quickly as possible and with the operating flexibility and resources to position GT for long-term success."

The news sent GT stock, which had plunged since the iPhone announcement, higher by 13.8% in pre-market trading.

Source: http://goo.gl/iDd5SQ