Advantech Co (研華), the world’s biggest industrial computer maker, yesterday said it plans to acquire a 60 percent stake in medical display supplier Kostec Co Ltd, as it moves to expand its presence in the medical care market.
This is the first acquisition bid launched by Advantech in the medical field, with the 35-year-old company aiming to get a bigger slice of the global medical display market.
The investment would allow Advantech to broaden its smart medical care product lineups and expand its reach to South Korea, Southeast Asia and North America, the company said in a statement released yesterday.
Advantech has already built a presence in Greater China, the Middle East, Australia and Europe, the statement said.
“Medical-grade displays used in medical equipment and surgical monitors are still uncharted territories for Advantech. The investment in Kostec will help us leverage its strength in those areas,” Advantech chairman K.C. Liu (劉克振) said in the statement.
Advantech, which commands a 29 percent share of the global industrial computer market, has ventured into the medical care market in recent years by offering medical carts, tablets and personal computers.
Kostec, headquartered in Gangwan-do, South Korea, supplies a wide range of medical-grade LCD monitors for use in diagnostics and surgeries.
“The medical display market has performed quite well in recent years and we want to expand our market share in this field,” Advantech spokesperson Jill Su (蘇智蘋) said by telephone.
Su said that medical-related applications currently account for a single-digit percentage of the company’s overall revenue.
“We want to balance our company’s product portfolio in order to diversify operating risks,” Su added.
The company saw its revenue increase 10.12 percent to NT$38.18 billion (US$1.18 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, compared with NT$34.67 billion a year earlier, according to its latest filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Medical display is the second fastest-growing sector in the industrial computer market, after the transportation and infrastructure sector, Advantech said, citing a report from market researcher IHS.
Medical display is also the second-largest sector in the industrial computer market, accounting for 12 percent of the market, according to IHS.
Advantech expects to complete the acquisition by the end of this quarter.
No financial details were disclosed yesterday as the companies have inked a non-disclosure agreement.
Advantech shares slid 0.79 percent to NT$252.50 in Taipei trading yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.21 percent.
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