SDK to Form JV with Toyoda Gosei for GaN LED Business
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) has decided to split its business in gallium-nitride (GaN)-based blue LED chips, and transfer 70% of shares in the new company to Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (Toyoda Gosei), by the end of this year.
SDK is producing and selling a wide variety of LED chips, including aluminum-gallium-indium-phosphide (AlGaInP), gallium-arsenide (GaAs), gallium-phosphide (GaP), and GaN. The joint venture will be established in the area of GaN LED chips being produced at SDK’s plant in Chiba Prefecture.
SDK is already cooperating with Toyoda Gosei, a world leader for the development and marketing of GaN LEDs. By establishing a joint venture with Toyoda Gosei for the GaN LED business, we will further strengthen our relations with Toyoda Gosei and expand overall supply capacity. At the same time, we will aim to achieve synergistic effect in R&D, improving brightness and production efficiency.
In the LED business other than the GaN LED chips, SDK will continue its independent operations.
Profile of the new company:
Company name (tentative): TS Opto Co., Ltd.
Establishment: Scheduled for December 2012
Location: 5-1, Yawata Kaigan Dori, Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture
Capital at the time of establishment: Approx. \490 million (planned)
Ownership: To be owned 70% by Toyoda Gosei; and 30% by SDK
Scope of business: Production and sale of GaN-based LED products
