Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's largest motherboard maker, yesterday announced it would form a strategic alliance with Ability Enterprise Co (佳能企業) to enter into the production of digital cameras.
Asustek will release 29,824,561 new shares, with one Asustek share exchanging for 1.71 shares of Ability, the nation's top-three digital camera maker, Asustek's chief financial officer David Chang (張偉明) said at a press briefing last night.
The transaction will amount to NT$2.8 billion (US$85.5 million), Chang said.
The companies will complete the share swap on Sept. 13, with Asustek acquiring a 13 percent stake in Ability, while Ability will take a 0.8 percent stake in Asustek.
Asustek will thus become the largest stakeholder in Ability and take three to four seats on Ability's board.
"The optical image sector is very important to Asustek's overall strategy," Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said yesterday.
Asustek announced early this month that it will separate its contract production business into two new companies -- Pegatron Technology Corp (和碩聯合科技) and Unihan Technology Corp (永碩聯合國際) -- by Jan. 1 next year, in a bid to enhance brand competitiveness and expand contract production.
Ability's expertise will enhance Asustek's competitiveness in the optical image sector, Shih said.
It will also benefit Asustek as Ability -- which produces digital cameras for Samsung Electronics Co, Casio Computer Co and Nikon Corp -- has a strong rapport with Japanese clientele, he said.
Ability churned out a total of 5.4 million cameras in the first six months of the year and the figure is expected to rise to 12 million for the whole year, Ability president Roger Tseng (曾明仁) said.
The company produced 6.7 million units last year.
The alliance with Asustek will pave the way for Ability to move into other products in the optical image area in the future, Tseng said.
Asustek is not the only company to have been lured by the strong technical resources of Taiwanese camera makers, which produce a majority of the world's cameras.
In June last year, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world's largest electronics parts maker, acquired the nation's top camera maker, Premier Image Technology Corp (普立爾).
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