News Article
Obducat propose a convertible issue of 100 MSEK in order to accelerate its expansion
OBDUCAT AB, a supplier of lithography solutions based on NanoImprint Lithography and Electron Beam Lithography, propose a new convertible issue, which shall yield the company 100 MSEK, after costs for the issuance and costs for the convertible debenture loan during its term.
The purpose of the new issue is to strengthen the company's opportunities for a successful industrialisation of its lithography technologies among the leading electronics manufacturers in the world. The payment from the capitalisation, which is proposed through a convertible issue, will be used to drive the company's business development on a broad front as well as for continued development of its current product portfolio and thereby create application oriented industrial lithography solutions.
By strengthening the company's financial position, Obducat will be able to meet requirements from many different customers regarding financial strength and preparedness for action in terms of more aggressive delivery schedules. Hereby the company also expects to continue to keep a leading market position when the commercialization move into a much more comprehensive phase.
Obducat began the development towards industrial level commercialisation barely two years ago. As more and more components produced with NIL are integrated into electronics products, such as has been described in different industry organisation road maps, the need for expanded production capacity is also expected to materialise during 2008. The company estimate that the pace of change required by this industrialisation will be intense. Today Obducat is the market leader within NIL (NanoImprintLithography) with an installation base of about 70 systems. The company has a number of world leading consumer electronics manufacturers as its customers, including Epistar, LG Electronics, Samsung, Dai Nippon Printing and Thomson. With this market position as a starting point and in combination with a strong patent portfolio, a large amount of accumulated know how, and a financial endurance, the company regards the prerequisite for reaching a successful industrialisation as very good.
Roadmaps for Obducat's customers as well as planned development within different industries make investment decisions of scale necessary in the near future. In particular within the LED and hard disk drive industry the commercialization is expected to gather steam during the year. Obducat now prioritize the customers with expressed desire to be pioneers within their respective application areas, and the planned capital contribution will be used in the efforts to secure and carry out planned activities aimed to realise the joint goal of creating a time to market advantage. To secure future opportunities Obducat's board of directors propose a convertible issue in accordance with the outline described above. The board of directors will publish the formal notice of an extra ordinary shareholders meeting on Monday, February 18th, 2008. It should be noted that the board of directors thus will not utilise the current issue authorisation of a maximum of 80 million shares.
By strengthening the company's financial position, Obducat will be able to meet requirements from many different customers regarding financial strength and preparedness for action in terms of more aggressive delivery schedules. Hereby the company also expects to continue to keep a leading market position when the commercialization move into a much more comprehensive phase.
Obducat began the development towards industrial level commercialisation barely two years ago. As more and more components produced with NIL are integrated into electronics products, such as has been described in different industry organisation road maps, the need for expanded production capacity is also expected to materialise during 2008. The company estimate that the pace of change required by this industrialisation will be intense. Today Obducat is the market leader within NIL (NanoImprintLithography) with an installation base of about 70 systems. The company has a number of world leading consumer electronics manufacturers as its customers, including Epistar, LG Electronics, Samsung, Dai Nippon Printing and Thomson. With this market position as a starting point and in combination with a strong patent portfolio, a large amount of accumulated know how, and a financial endurance, the company regards the prerequisite for reaching a successful industrialisation as very good.
Roadmaps for Obducat's customers as well as planned development within different industries make investment decisions of scale necessary in the near future. In particular within the LED and hard disk drive industry the commercialization is expected to gather steam during the year. Obducat now prioritize the customers with expressed desire to be pioneers within their respective application areas, and the planned capital contribution will be used in the efforts to secure and carry out planned activities aimed to realise the joint goal of creating a time to market advantage. To secure future opportunities Obducat's board of directors propose a convertible issue in accordance with the outline described above. The board of directors will publish the formal notice of an extra ordinary shareholders meeting on Monday, February 18th, 2008. It should be noted that the board of directors thus will not utilise the current issue authorisation of a maximum of 80 million shares.
