In a joint filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on
November 14, Taiwanese flat-panel monitor maker Innolux Display, an affiliate
of EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Service) provider Foxconn Group, said that it
will acquire Taiwanese LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel maker CMO via share
swap, Commercial Times of Taiwan reported. Innolux plans to exchange one share
for every 2.05 CMO shares in a deal valued at approximately NT$172 billion (US$5.35
billion; US$1=NT$32.17). Following the merger, Innolux will be the surviving
company, and the new entity is to be named Chimei Innolux Corporation. It is projected
that the new company will surpass AUO as the largest LCD panel maker in Taiwan.
The merger is slated to take effect on May 1, 2010.
The acquisition of CMO marks Innolux's second
such endeavor in a short span of time. Earlier in October this year, Innolux acquired
Toppoly Optoelectronics, a Taiwanese maker of small-size LCD panels for use in
mobile phone, for US$654 million.