Samsung is reportedly in talks to acquire German organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology developer Novaled.
A Novaled representative declined to comment on reports that Samsung is offering more than $200 million for the company, but she did say it may have an announcement to make in a few days.
A Samsung spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter and referred to Samsung affiliate Cheil Industries, also known as Samsung Chemical, which would acquire Novaled, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Cheil Technologies did not respond to a request for comment.
Novaled develops technologies and materials that enhance the performance of OLEDs and other organic electronics and sells them to manufacturers of display products.
OLEDs are devices composed of multiple thin layers of organic materials often only a few nanometers thick that emit diffuse light when electricity is applied to them. They are used in thin displays with sharp colors that have the potential to offer greater cost and energy savings than other lighting technologies, Novaled said on its website.
In 2011, Samsung Samsung's venture capital arm invested in the company.
In June last year, Novaled entered a licensing and purchasing agreement with Samsung Mobile Display, extending the use of Novaled's OLED materials to Samsung's next generation of mobile AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) devices.
Novaled has a broad portfolio of more than 500 patents granted or pending, the company said on its website. It was founded in 2001 as a spin-off of the Technical University and the Fraunhofer Institute of Dresden, and has been commercially active since 2003.
The company is based in Dresden and has sales offices in Korea and Japan.
