BenQ completes AU Optronics share sale

Mobile phone maker BenQ Corp (明基) yesterday announced it had completed a share sale of AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) worth NT$4.54 billion (US$137 million).

Proceeds of the sale will be used to increase cash flow and enhance BenQ's financial strength, a company statement said yesterday.

BenQ sold 94.45 million shares of AU Optronics, the world's third-largest liquid-crystal-display maker, yesterday at NT$45.35 each, representing a 5.2 percent discount on AU Optronics' closing price of NT$47.85.

"The firm that purchased BenQ's holdings of AU Optronics has expressed its strong support in the latter's current management and will continue to support its future development," BenQ deputy spokesman David Wang (王淡如) said in the statement.

BenQ did not identify the buyer, but it was reported that it was Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), which has held an 8.42 percent stake in AU Optronics.

The share sale was part of a larger financial strategy launched in the fourth quarter last year to enhance BenQ's financial structure.

It includes the sale of BenQ's shares in Airoha Technology Corp (絡達科技), Gallant Precision Machining Co (均豪精密), Philips BenQ Digital Storage (飛利浦明基儲存科技), as well as the building and land at BenQ's Jian Dong factory, which have yielded NT$2 billion.

All of these sales will generate an estimated NT$12 billion, it said.