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01 Apr 2005
Including news from Three-Five Systems, LINOS, OmniVision, Novaled and more.
Acquisitions:
• LCD specialist International DisplayWorks (IDW) has agreed to acquire Three-Five Systems' Beijing operation, TFS Beijing. The deal includes a 56,000 ft2 LCD manufacturing facility. TFS Beijing will receive $8 million in cash, with IDW assuming the firm's $2.4 million debt. "The facility provides us with additional chip-on-glass capacity for current orders which will enable us to delay approximately $2 million in planned capital expenditure," said IDW CEO Tom Lacey.
• OmniVision Technologies, a US supplier of CMOS image sensors, is to acquire CDM Optics for a purchase price of $30 million. CDM Optics has developed software dubbed "Wavefront Coding" that substantially boosts camera performance by increasing the depth of field and correcting optical aberrations. The 18 employee firm, which will remain at its Colorado, US, location, will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of OmniVision.
• Photometrics, a division of Roper Scientific that produces CCD cameras, has acquired Optical Insights. Optical Insights has expertise in spectral and polarization imaging that will benefit Photometrics' range of intelligent cameras for life science applications. Both firms are based in Tucson, Arizona, US.
Financial results:
• LINOS, a German maker of optical systems, has increased its annual revenue by 25.5% to EUR 88.1 million for 2004 - the best year in the company's history. Its industrial manufacturing division remained the biggest in terms of revenue, growing by 22.5% to EUR 36.8 million. "Thanks to the reorganization program carried out in recent years, LINOS is well equipped to operate profitably in what is more of a stagnant economic environment," said the firm. The company has reduced its number of German locations from five to three and expanded production in Poland.
General company news:
• Samsung SDI has agreed to test Novaled's organic LED technology. Novaled is German spin-off from Dresden University's Applied Photo Physics institute and the Fraunhofer Society's institute for Photonics Microsystems. "This cooperation will enhance the acceptance of our doping technology in the entire OLED industry," commented Novaled CEO Gildas Sorin.
• Chinese firm ZTE Corporation, a manufacturer of optical communications equipment, has opened a factory and R&D center in India. Located in Manesar near Gurgaon, the facility covers more than 4000 m2. According to a study released by Ernst & Young, the Indian telecoms network could become the world's second largest in the next five years.
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