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Press Release
Epistar and UEC to Merge in a Stock-for-Stock Transaction
Epistar
Corporation and United Epitaxy Company (UEC), both well known
in the high brightness LED industry, announced today that they
are planning to merge. As leading suppliers in the field of
high brightness LED epiwafers and chips, the merger of the two
companies will create the largest epiwafer and chip company in
Taiwan, in terms of revenue and production capacity.
The boards of
both companies have agreed to set a temporary stock for stock
exchange ratio, which is 2.24 UEC shares to one Epistar share.
The transaction is subject to the approval by the shareholders
of both companies and to the necessary regulatory clearance in
Taiwan. It is expected to be finished by the end of this year
Epistar is the
leader in ITO high brightness blue and green LEDs and UEC is
the largest supplier of AlGaInP LED chips in the world. As a
result, the two companies are highly complimentary of each
other in the global market. The merger will bring an even more
complete product line-up and a broader customer basis for the
new company. More importantly, it will further strengthen the
company¡¦s already strong patent portfolio. With the
cooperation and integration in sales, production and R&D, the
merger will enable the realization of synergies in new product
development and cost reduction, as well as increasing revenue
and profitability.
The two companies
reported total revenues in 2004 of approximately 5.74 billion
NT (179 million USD). The new company has a capital and a
market value of around 3 billion NT (95 million USD) and 12
billion NT (380 million USD), respectively. By leveraging
Epistar¡¦s expertise and UEC¡¦s know-how in the manufacturing of
high brightness InGaN and AlGaInP LEDs, the combined company
is well positioned for the ever changing and fast growing LED
industry.
The new Epistar
Corporation is expected to continuously play a pivotal role in
the global LED supply chain. Through strong efforts to strive
for the best by the new company, the shareholders will be
further benefited. Finally, the customers will also enjoy the
synergy of such a merger for better products and services.
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