Himax Technologies, a major Taiwanese producer of chips for LCD products, has agreed to buy rival Wisepal Technologies in an all stock transaction valued at $50 million.
Himax Technologies, a major Taiwanese producer of chips for LCD products, has agreed to buy rival Wisepal Technologies in an all stock transaction valued at $50 million.
The deal will provide Himax with new technologies and new customers for its LCD chip products, the company said in a statement late Tuesday. Wisepal focuses mainly on chips for small and midsize LCD panel products, while Himax, which makes chips for all LCD sizes, mainly focuses on LCD-TVs.
The main benefit for Himax will be gaining several new large customers. Wisepal supplies LCD chips to Compal Electronics, the world’s second largest contract laptop manufacturer, as well as handset maker Compal Communications and handset display maker TPO Displays.
Compal Electronics and TPO Displays are the two largest shareholders in Wisepal.
Himax expects to retain Wisepal’s management team and 50 engineers, which will increase the number of projects it can have in motion at one time, the company said. Wisepal has around 60 employees in all, according to its Web site.
The companies expect the deal to close during the fourth quarter of this year, pending regulatory approval.
