Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. will transfer 95% of its issued shares
in the company’s semiconductor business to Rohm Co., Ltd. in a
cooperative move that will see the companies sign an agreement, pending
approval by Oki’s shareholders at its upcoming annual shareholder
meeting. Oki has been investigating initiatives to expand its business
while Rohm has been looking to expand its IDM product portfolio of
late.
Oki will have use of Rohm’s production processes for the continued
production of system LSIs and logic LSIs, while Rohm will begin
production using Oki’s existing fabs. The agreement is expected to
benefit both companies from a sales, technology and production
perspective.
“With this share transfer, we can create a synergy
effect to strengthen both sales and profit for the two companies by
complementing each other, as the overlap of our products is relatively
small,” said Satoshi Sawamura, Managing Director at ROHM. “We will
become more competitive as we expand our product line up and maximize
our advanced production capabilities.”
A 100% share transfer
would amount to ¥90 million. Oki’s shareholder meeting is scheduled for
June 27th, and should the move be approved, the transfer of shares will
take place on October 1st, 2008.
By Síle Mc Mahon