E Ink to Buy SiPix Shares

Taipei, Aug. 8, 2012 (CENS)--E Ink Holdings of Taiwan, a global leader in electronic paper (epaper) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies, recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SiPix Technology Inc. (STI) and its wholly owned subsidiary SiPix Imaging Inc. (SII), a maker of epaper displays, for less-than NT$1.5 billion (US$50million) cash.

SiPix is a subsidiary of AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), the second-largest thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel manufacturer in Taiwan. Established in 1999, SiPix, based in California and Taiwan, makes micro-cup technology based electrophoretic displays.

With the acquisition, E Ink is expected to offer an even-wider portfolio of ePaper products that will allow it to expand its existing markets and diversify into newer applications.

"E Ink is committed to growing the ePaper market and the acquisition of SiPix is part of our long-term growth strategy," said Scott Liu, Chairman of E Ink. "Our goal is 'E Ink On Every Smart Surface' and we are continuing to invest in technologies that will open new markets for our ePaper displays."

Felix Ho, vice chairman of E Ink, pointed out that E Ink recently enabled an entire eReader market with the company's epaper products. Today, he added, E Ink's products are finding homes in a number of new applications which can be better served with the inclusion of SiPix's products, technologies and intellectual property to the firm's portfolio.

Industry sources said that this acquisition shows E Ink's strong commitment to epaper displays. Over the past 15 years, E Ink has made substantial investments in inventing, designing, manufacturing and marketing epaper displays to create new markets.

E Ink has reached an agreement to acquire 82.7% of SiPix's shares and is seeking to acquire up to a 100% stake, which is valued at approximately NT$1.5 billion. After customary regulatory approvals, the final closing is likely to be in the fourth quarter this year.