대만 TFT-LCD 패널제조회사인 프라임뷰인터내셔널(Prime View International http://www.pvi.com.tw )이 전자잉크 원천기술을 보유하고 있는 e잉크 http://www.eink.com/ 사를 사들였습니다. 전자책 업계에서는 쇼킹한 딜로 받아들여지고 있습니다만 국내 이를 소개한 언론이 거의 없네요. 저는 현지 WSJ 아시아판에서 봤습니다.

지금 여러분들이 기대하고 있는 킨들부터 시작해 각종 e잉크 기술이 이제 대만 업체가 관장하게 되는 셈입니다. 따라서 프라임뷰는 향후 전자책 기술 시장에서 가장 강력한 경쟁자로 떠오를 가능성이 높아졌습니다. 인수 금액은 2억1500만 달러입니다.

e잉크사 및 기술 소개

http://www.itviewpoint.com/53145 http://www.itviewpoint.com/45869 

http://www.itviewpoint.com/35071 http://www.itviewpoint.com/8542

이번 컴퓨텍스에는 e잉크 기반 전자책은 몇 가지 나오진 않았습니다. 그리고 업계에 계신 분들이라면 과거에 보던 바로 그 제품들이라 소개하기에도 민망할 정도입니다. 하지만 킨들의 영향인지 관심은 높더군요.

보도자료
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090601005656&newsLang=en
http://www.pvi.com.tw/en/news/news_view.php?lists=13

전자신문 보도
http://www.etnews.co.kr/news/detail.html?&mc=m_014_00004&id=200906020135

1일(현지시각) 뉴욕타임스 등 주요 외신에 따르면 미국 전자잉크 전문업체 E잉크가 대만의 디스플레이 패널업체 프라임뷰인터내셔널(PVI)에 인수된다. 매각 금액은 2억1500만달러이며 인수 절차는 감독당국의 승인을 거쳐 오는 4분기중 마무리될 것으로 예상된다. <일부 발췌>

PVI 보도자료 전문

Prime View International Reaches Agreement to Acquire E Ink

TAIPEI, Taiwan & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prime View International (“PVI”) (8069.TW), a leading small and medium display provider and the world’s highest volume supplier of ePaper display modules, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire E Ink Corporation, the leader in electronic paper display materials and intellectual property for approximately $215 million.

The new company will expand capacity and develop improvements for ePaper display screens that are easy on the eyes, long-lasting, and highly portable. ePaper is ideal for reading of digital documents which are less wasteful, more convenient and more up-to-date than paper documents.

“The ePaper display module market will grow to over $3 billion by 2013. This market will see further growth with the emergence of color displays and flexible displays, serving eBook/eTextbook, eNewspaper/eMagazine and eDocument markets. Currently, electrophoretic display technology has more than 90% market share in the overall ePaper displays, and E Ink is the #1 supplier of electrophoretic materials," according Dr. Jennifer Colegrove, DisplaySearch’s Director of Display Technologies.

“The market for electronic book devices such as the SONY Reader and Amazon Kindle is forecasted to grow from 1.1 million units in 2008 to 20 million units in 2012, a cumulative annual growth rate of 105% over the four-year period,” said iSuppli analyst Vinita Jakhanwal, “PVI and E Ink enabled this market back in 2005 and they have been the display market leaders ever since.”

“The world is searching for green technology that saves energy and cuts waste and still provides an outstanding experience,” said Scott Liu, Chairman and CEO of PVI, “E Ink’s electronic paper meets those needs, especially in electronic publishing and mobile displays. The people in both companies will unite to provide the world’s best digital reading experience and that will benefit all our customers and end users.”

“Combining E Ink and PVI creates a single public company that is dedicated to electronic paper,” said Russ Wilcox, co-founder, President and CEO of E Ink Corp. “With a common ownership structure, we can get closer to customers around the world, streamline the supply chain, and speed up new product development.”

The deal is the capstone in a transformation at PVI over the past four years to focus on electronic paper displays. In 2005, PVI acquired the ePaper business of Philips Electronics and partnered with E Ink to provide displays for electronic books including the popular SONY Reader and the Amazon Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. PVI also invested heavily in dedicated driver chips and touch screens for ePaper, as well as flexible displays, which will be marketed later this year. In 2008, PVI bought a 74% stake of Hydis Technologies of Korea, quadrupling capacity for the transistor backplanes used in ePaper.

E Ink and PVI currently support nearly 20 eBook manufacturers worldwide. In addition to electronic books, E Ink’s Vizplex™ imaging film is used in cellphones, signage, smartcards, memory devices, and battery indicators. E Ink sales were $18M in the first quarter of 2009, up 157% over the same quarter in 2008.

With the merger, PVI gains substantial intellectual property and employee talent, while securing supply of a critical component during the rapid growth phase of the market, and adding alliances and relationships across the ePaper and flexible display industry. E Ink will continue to supply its products across the display industry and will have access to increased operating funds to boost production and accelerate new technology and product developments.

PVI will finance the acquisition with an equity placement and a convertible bond offering led by Taiwanese securities firm KGI. The transaction is subject to shareholder and customary regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Since its inception, E Ink has collaborated with a wide range of partners to develop a global ecosystem for electronic paper displays. E Ink also amassed a portfolio of hundreds of patent applications, including 150 issued in the United States. IEEE Spectrum ranked E Ink’s patent portfolio as number three worldwide for computer peripherals and storage.

In the past twelve months customers have announced many exciting E Ink-enabled devices.

• Oprah Winfrey endorsed Amazon’s Kindle on live television calling it “her favorite gadget”. Subsequently Amazon’s Kindle 2 has proven highly popular and the Kindle DX enters the eTextbook and eNewspaper space with a large 9.7” screen.
• SONY launched a new PRS-700 Reader with integrated touch screen.
• Chinese astronauts brought the Hanwan N510 eBook into outer space on a recent Shenzhou 7 mission.
• PVI, Epson, LG Display, PolymerVision, Hewlett-Packard and Plastic Logic demonstrated flexible active matrix displays using E Ink Vizplex imaging film.
• E Ink Corporation teamed with Esquire Magazine and Ford Corporation on the first ePaper animated magazine cover.
• In May 2009, Verizon announced the Samsung Alias 2 cellphone, with a changeable keypad made with E Ink Vizplex imaging film.

E Ink was recognized with top business and industry awards in 2008, including The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) Top Innovator Award; the Boston Business Journal’s List of Boston’s Fastest Growing Companies; and, The FineTech Japan Display Components & Materials Category Grand Award, among others.

E Ink Corporation will remain headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. and plans to expand its employee base from 127 to 150 people during 2009.

PVI was advised on the acquisition by investment bank Credit Suisse and law firm Baker & McKenzie. E Ink Corporation was advised by investment bank Thomas Weisel Partners and law firm Bingham McCutchen.

About Prime View International

Founded by Taiwan’s leading paper making and printing group YFY (1907.TW) in 1992, Prime View International (8069.TW) is the pioneer TFT business in Taiwan. Its corporate philosophy aims to deliver revolutionary products, user experiences and environmental benefits through advanced technology development. This tradition has led to its continuous investments in the field of ePaper display as well as the acquisition of Hydis Technologies in 2008, the manufacturer of the world’s best wide viewing angle LCDs. Listed in Taiwan’s OTC market, PVI is now the world’s top ePaper module maker and a leading supplier of small to medium size LCDs.

About E Ink Corporation

E Ink Corporation is the world's leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies. E Ink's technology is ideal for many consumer and industrial applications spanning handheld devices, eBooks, eNewspapers, PC-accessories, public information displays and promotional signs. E Ink is a private corporation that includes among its investors and strategic partners Air Products and Chemicals, Chi Lin Technology, Epson, Hearst Corp, Intel, LG Display, Motorola, Philips, Prime View International, Toppan Printing Co and Wacom. E Ink’s customers include Amazon, Casio, Citizen, Hanwang, Hitachi, iRex, Lexar, Plastic Logic, Samsung and Sony. E Ink news can be found at: www.eink.com