Asahi Glass is to acquire SCHOTT Processing Korea Co., Ltd., a wholly owned Korean subsidiary of Germany“s SCHOTT AG engaged in polishing large glass substrates for thin-film transistor liquid crysta…
Asahi Glass is to acquire SCHOTT Processing Korea Co., Ltd., a wholly owned Korean subsidiary of Germany“s SCHOTT AG engaged in polishing large glass substrates for thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD). Once the acquisition has been approved by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Asahi Glass will begin the process of acquiring all the shares of SPK from SCHOTT AG. SPK was established by SCHOTT AG in March 2005 to supply TFT glass to the Korean market. Recently, Asahi Glass reached an agreement with SCHOTT AG under which it would acquire all shares of SPK. The acquisition of SPK will give Asahi Glass a second production base in Korea (in addition to its subsidiary in Gumi City, Asahi Glass Fine Techno Korea Co., Ltd., which makes and sells TFT glass) and allow it to establish a more flexible production structure in the country. Furthermore, by acquiring SPK, Asahi Glass will be able to use the land, facilities and existing infrastructure more effectively. SPK offers Asahi Glass the opportunity to respond to the expanding market for TFT glass. After acquiring SPK, Asahi Glass intends to change the name of the subsidiary, but the new name has not yet been determined. Asahi Glass will continue to expand facilities as necessary, while giving full consideration to trends in demand for glass substrates and an increase in production capacity at its existing manufacturing facilities in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and will also stably supply products that meet the needs of customers by leveraging its strengths in the float production method and technologies for polishing large glass substrates.