Moser Baer acquires Philips' R&D firm

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Moser Baer India Ltd has acquired optical research and development company OM&T, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Philips, for an undisclosed price.

OM&T is currently the only company outside Japan shipping blue-ray discs. This acquisition will give Moser Baer a toe-hold in Netherlands. According to the agreement, all Intellectual Property (IP) created by the Dutch firm would be transferred to Moser Baer. The management at Moser Baer believes that this acquisition will enhance R&D capabilities.

Also, the management states that synergies are immense from this acquisition.

The company has entered into a definitive agreement with Philips for the acquisition, Moser Baer informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"This acquisition is a milestone for Moser Baer as we implement our strategy to be at the forefront of technology in both the optical and solar photovoltaic (PV) segments," company Executive Director Ratul Puri said.

According to the agreement, all Intellectual Property (IP) created by the Dutch firm would be transferred to Moser Baer. The joint venture will also focus on development of photo-voltaic technologies to support Moser Baer's PV business.

Moser Baer said the acquisition will complement the existing technology research being done in the company's R&D centre in India and would help the global number two player in the optical media market to further consolidate its leadership position.

While OM&T has been instrumental in developing new optical media solutions and technologies, creating new markets via global standardisation, its work in Blu-ray and being the only firm outside Japan shipping Blu-ray discs, the move would help jump start Moser Baer's objective of being amongst the first few global manufacturers of the Blu-ray disc.

The agreement would also help Moser Baer leverage OM&T's best in class mastering and stamper making capabilities.

-With additional inputs from PTI