Companies Enter Into Agreement for Sale of GaN-On-Silicon Technology / Chip Related Assets to Toshiba, With Expanded Licensing and Manufacturing Collaboration
Bridgelux Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies and solutions, and Toshiba Corporation, a world-leading electronic manufacturer, today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Bridgelux will sell to Toshiba its industry-leading GaN-on-Silicon technology and related assets, and the companies will strengthen and extend their strategic technology collaboration, through an expanded licensing and manufacturing relationship.
In January, 2012, Bridgelux and Toshiba entered into a Joint Development and Collaboration Agreement for the development of GaN-on-Silicon LED technologies. The success of that relationship was demonstrated by Toshiba's announcements of the achievement of world class performance for 8" GaN-on-Silicon LED wafers and mass production of white LEDs. Both of these milestones were achieved using Bridgelux's crystal growth and LED device technologies as well as Toshiba's advanced silicon processes and manufacturing technologies.
The enhanced strategic relationship announced today provides for new business opportunity through the expanded collaboration for next generation LED chips and packages, or platforms, based on the jointly developed GaN-on-Silicon technology, as well as a manufacturing arrangement securing Bridgelux a source of supply for GaN-on-Silicon-based LED chips.
"Our agreement with Toshiba marks a tremendous milestone in our long history of working closely together, allowing Bridgelux to capitalize on our strong core LED technology platform, providing us with significant new capital for growth, and reducing our capital requirements," said Brad Bullington, Chief Executive Officer of Bridgelux. "This agreement also allows us to focus on what we do best, and what we think the market needs most at this point in time: commercializing, productizing and bringing to market LED-based solid state lighting technologies alongside a proven global scale semiconductor manufacturing partner. We are one step closer to becoming the world's leading solid state lighting technology architecture company."
"We are so excited with this deal that gaining GaN-on-Silicon technology and related assets will contribute to drastically strengthening our LED business, and bring us a high performance and competitive product line-up. We fully expect our new Livermore team to play a leading role within Toshiba in the development and rapid market penetration of GaN-on-Silicon LED chips," said Makoto Hideshima, Executive Vice President of Semiconductor and Storage Products Company, Corporate Vice President of Toshiba. "Entering a new phase of our relationship with Bridgelux, we will be able to accelerate the scaled manufacturing of 8" GaN-on-Silicon LED wafers, which will position both companies for strong growth in our respective LED businesses. The GaN-on-Silicon technology that we acquire will also bring us a breakthrough for Power Devices development and production."
The GaN-on-Silicon assets included in the sale, and the related Bridgelux employees, will remain onsite at Bridgelux's headquarters in Livermore after the transaction closes to assure continued technical and business collaboration between the companies.
