Formosa Taffeta Co (FTC, 福懋興業), a textile affiliate of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), plans to invest up to 40 million Swiss francs (US$40.55 million) in Schoeller Textil AG next year to deepen its cooperation with the Swiss textile manufacturer and increase its market share of high-end products.
FTC’s board of directors has approved a plan to acquire a 50 percent stake in Schoeller Textil in March next year, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The Swiss investment would strengthen FTC’s product portfolio by adding production lines for high-end products, which would also help raise its market share in Europe and the US, the company said.
FPG and FTC chairman William Wong (王文淵) traveled to Switzerland earlier this week to negotiate the deal with Schoeller Textil, the company said.
FTC would conduct due diligence and discuss a possible seat on the Schoeller Textil board at a later date, it said.
The company has worked with Schoeller Textil for 17 years and it plans to increase their collaboration on technology licensing, comprehensive renovations and the development of new textiles, it said.
Cooperating with the Swiss company would speed up the development of sea yarns and smart apparel, the company’s focus, FTC said.
It would become FTC’s largest overseas investment should the deal be completed, it said.
Schoeller Textil, established in 1868, mainly produces high-end functional outdoor and sports apparel, protective textiles for police and military use, knitted textiles and technical products, such as medical and cleaning textiles, the company’s Web site says.
It has plants in Switzerland and Germany, and sells most of its products in Europe and the US, FTC said.
The investment would be used to develop new products and further expand the firms’ business in Asia by producing Schoeller Textil goods in FTC plants, the Taiwanese company said.
FTC would continue to look for integration possibilities among downstream functional and smart clothing manufacturers in the textile industry, it said.
The company’s sales fell 0.14 percent year-on-year to NT$3.77 billion (US$123.16 million) last month, while cumulative sales in the first nine months increased 4.81 percent year-on-year to NT$35.43 billion.
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