FORNEBU, Norway -- Ignis ASA has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire 50.1 per cent of the shares in Fi-ra Photonics Co., Ltd. in Korea for USD 7.0 million. Fi-ra has 78 employees and sales of approximately USD 4 million in 2005. Strong growth in the fiber-optics markets is expected to generate more than a doubling of sales in 2006. The acquisition will also have a positive effect on the results in Ignis ASA from 2006.
The number of households with fiber-optical broadband connections is expected to increase from the current 6 million to approximately 20 million in 2008. The majority of the fiber-connections will come in Asia and North-America, and Fi-ra’s largest customer is a world leading Japanese equipment vendor supplying both these markets.
- Earlier this year, Ignis signed agreements with the leading Korean systems houses Samsung and LGE for development of optical components. The investment in Fi-ra strengthens both the product portfolio and the customer base, which already includes several top names in this big and growing market. This also gives us the operational base we needed for our market entry, says CEO Thomas Ramm in Ignis ASA.
- We complement each other in terms of products and customers, and together we will also make up a stronger sales force. Joining forces will also open for increased production, by moving the bulk of Fi-ras front-end production to Denmark. We can also secure our deliveries to existing and new customers in Asia by making use of Fi-ras back-end capacity for more of our products, says Ramm.
Ignis will subscribe USD 6.3 million in a private placement in Fi-ra, to cover increased working capital requirements and repayment of debt. Ignis will also purchase existing shares for USD 0.7 million from Fi-ra’s founder and CEO, Dr. Jong-Ha Moon. After the completion of the transactions, Fi-ra will hold the majority (50.1 per cent) of the share capital and votes.
Ignis ASA