Idemitsu Kosan Co has announced that the company has acquired a 32.73% stake in Global OLED Technology LLC, the LG Group company that acquired all of the Kodak patents back in Dec 2009 . It has been estimated that Idemitsu paid several billion yen for this stake. According to reports Global OLED Technology owns about 2,000 patents related to OLED technology. This stake continues to build on the relationship Idemitsu and LG Display Co. formed last year to develop OLED technologies to make large area OLED displays that have extended lifetimes.

Idemitsu has been keen to diversify by seeking to strengthen its non-petroleum operations by expanding in the electronic materials segment. Investing in Global OLED Technology will help Idemitsu tap the intellectual property and strengthen cooperation with the LG group in developing and supplying electronic components. Idemitsu aims to generate 6.5 billion yen in sales of electronic materials in fiscal 2012, up 180% from fiscal 2009.

www.idemitsu.co.jp     www.lgdisplay.com

Bayer MaterialScience recently acquired Artificial Muscle, Inc. (AMI). AMI is considered a pioneer and leader in the field of electroactive polymers for the consumer electronics industry.

Bayer MaterialScience gains exclusive access to a broad patent portfolio and patent applications owned or exclusively licensed by AMI. This will allow Bayer MaterialScience to address a significant part of the value chain for films in a broad range of applications, as well as to accelerate the introduction of this technology into the market within the next two years.

The merger of Innolux Display Corp, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp and TPO Displays Corp is now expected to be completed by April 1, a month later than initially announced as the companies are still awaiting regulatory approvals from overseas, the firms said Thursday.

Innolux has acquired two companies TPO and CMO (Chi Mei Optoelectronics). According to the various press releases this is a 3-way-merger that is expected to be completed by 30 April 2010.

Under the terms of the agreement, CMO and TPO will exchange their common shares for the common shares of Innolux. CMO will exchange 2.05 common shares for each Innolux common share, while TPO will exchange 8 common shares for each Innolux common share (after capital reduction conducted by TPO later this year, the exchange ratio of TPO to Innolux will be approximately 3.83: 1).

Prime View International ("PVI") has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire E Ink Corp for approximately $215 million.