Moser Baer India has acquired majority stake in optical research and development company OM&T BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Philips, for an undisclosed price. The terms of the agreement include transfer of all Intellectual Property (IP) created by OM&T to Moser Baer. | |
| Moser Baer Executive Director Ratul Puri described the acquisition as a "major strategic milestone for the company as we implement our strategy to be at the forefront of technology in both the optical and solar photovoltaic segments". |
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| OM&T is one of the largest R&D centres outside Japan. An offshore fund created by MBI has facilitated this all-cash acquisition. Peraround, a Baer subsidiary based in Cyprus, has picked up 81 per cent stake in OM&T. "We will acquire the remaining 19 per cent over the next two years,'' said Puri. |
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| The Netherlands-based OM&T has been involved in the development and commercialisation of the Blu-ray technology. |
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| This technology has five times more storage capacity than a DVD and almost 30 times more than a CD besides being able to transfer data at faster speeds than both of them. |
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| It is believed to be the only company outside Japan to ship Blu-Ray discs.MBI executives believe this acquisition will provide a major impetus to their objective of being the first few global manufacturers of the much-touted Blu-Ray discs. |
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| The company is also planning to integrate their patented L2H (low to high) technology along with OM&T's H2L (high to low) technology in this domain. |
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| MBI COO Girish Baluja said, "OM&T brings to MBI not only its state-of-the-art Blu-ray disc testing and manufacturing capabilities, world class mastering and stamper making expertise, test and professional discs opportunities but also a pool of highly qualified scientists and engineers." |
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| The deal is also expected to enable Moser Baer's entry into the Test Disc (which enables manufacturers to test and calibrate drives) market, in which OM&T is a leading player. OM&T also possesses capabilities in thin film, wet chemical processing, optics and concentration and testing procedures. |
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| OM&T, which reported revenues of about 10 million euros (approx Rs 60 crore) last year, has 56 employees. |
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