Kindle display makers create 'super' ebook firm
by Richard Wilson reporting in Electronics Weekly.
Monday 1 June 2009

E Ink, the US-based display maker behind Amazon’s Kindle ebook, has agreed to be bought by Taiwanese electronic paper display firm Prime View International (PVI) in a deal worth $215m.

The deal reflects the growing interest in the ebook market which replies on a new type of low power flat panel display, known as an electronic paper display, which has high contrast ratio. PVI is fast becoming the leading supplier in the electronic paper display market.

In 2005, PVI acquired the ePaper business of Philips Electronics and partnered with E Ink to provide displays for electronic books including the popular Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. PVI also developed the driver chips and touch screens for ePaper, and last year bought a 74% stake of Hydis Technologies of Korea, quadrupling capacity for the transistor backplanes used in ePaper.
E Ink and PVI currently support nearly 20 eBook manufacturers worldwide. “The market for electronic book devices such as the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle is forecasted to grow from 1.1 million units in 2008 to 20 million units in 2012, a cumulative annual growth rate of 105% over the four-year period,” said iSuppli analyst Vinita Jakhanwal, “Combining E Ink and PVI creates a single public company that is dedicated to electronic paper,” said Russ Wilcox, co-founder, president and CEO of E Ink.