China Acquires Howe Technology

Just after the US CFIUS vetoed the repression of the Philips Lighting Merger, China’s capital overseas mergers and acquisitions finally became elated. Yesterday evening, a digital image processing solution provider OmniVision Technologies and a consortium of China Capital, CITIC Capital and Jinshi Investment announced that the consortium had completed the acquisition of Howe Technology. Coway Technology's shares on the Nasdaq exchange will be suspended before the opening of US time and will be closed at the close of the transaction. According to the terms of the final purchase agreement, Cowell's shareholders will be acquired at a price of $29.75 per share in cash, for a total purchase fee of approximately $1.9 billion.

Since August 12, 2014, the buyer's group consisting of China Fortune Investment Co., Ltd. and so on began to issue non-binding cash purchase invitations to Cowell Technology. By April 30, 2015, the buyer group and the target company formally reached an acquisition agreement and completed the settlement yesterday. In the acquisition, more than 500 days and nights of anxiety and overwhelming, and finally settled.

The old image sensor king

Coway Technology, established in 1995, is a leading provider of digital image processing solutions. Its CameraChip and ameraCubeChip series CMOS image sensor chips are widely used in consumer and industrial applications, including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and cameras. , entertainment equipment, security systems, automation and medical systems.

Data from market research firm TechnoSystemsResearch shows that Sony’s share of the global CMOS image sensor market in 2015 was 40%, and Cowell and Samsung were 16% and 15%, respectively. In fact, before 2011, Coway Technology has always been the image sensor market leader, Sony's market share in 2010 is still only about 7%. However, the high-end market from the strong impact of Sony, Samsung and other Chinese and South Korean manufacturers in the low-end market are pressing harder and harder, so Cowell Technology gradually can not parry, market share has been eroded by competitors, in recent years has been declining.

Howe Technology was once the king of image sensors

From a market perspective, Cowell's CMOS image sensor (CIS) products have high market acceptance and potential for future growth. The current image sensor chip is mainly divided into two types: CCD and CIS. The former consists of optocoupler devices, and the latter consists of metal oxide devices. Both of them use photodiodes to sense incident light and convert it into electrical signals. Convert to a digital signal, the difference being the way the digital signal is transmitted. Compared with CCD, CIS has higher display accuracy, better integration (reduced peripheral component usage, lower system cost), and lower power consumption. Therefore, the prospects for the development of CIS are generally optimistic. Now, CIS has been well applied in smart phones. In the future, the demand for high-precision image sensing in the areas of IoT and automotive and industrial control will continue to increase. The imaginary space of the CIS industry has also become extremely large.

From the perspective of technology research and development, Coway Technology has conducted a lot of forward-looking research and development over the years, such as image display under extreme light conditions such as strong light or dark night light. People's demand for digital image acquisition is expanding, and CIS's technological refinement is still large. Therefore, the acquisition of Powerway Technology will also have great potential for improvement in the future.

Can you usher in the second spring?

From the perspective of company operations, the manufacturing center for global electronic information products is shifting to Asia, and China is both the major consumer market for electronic information products and the largest manufacturing base. Howe Technology, an integrated circuit design company registered in Dalaville, USA, has been heavily concentrated in Asia, especially in China. Through this acquisition will make it better close to customers, shorten the supply chain, the company's decision-making brain will also tilt to Asia to a certain extent, will form a better interaction with the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Whether it is "China Cool Joint", "Huomiowei", or "Made in China 2025" and Internet Plus, taking root in China Howe Technology will benefit from it and usher in a huge opportunity for development. People in the industry believe that if Cowell Technology wants to regain lost positions, it needs to make efforts in three aspects: technological innovation, establishing partnerships, and raising funds. After becoming a Chinese company, these problems will be solved.

In terms of technology, the Chinese government is promoting investment in designing and manufacturing integrated circuits, and the company can increase technological development. It can also promote technology transfer by shifting the supply chain to the Chinese mainland. In the market, especially in the smart In terms of mobile phone business, it is easier to have a good relationship with Chinese smart phone manufacturers. In terms of funding, it will also be relatively easy to raise funds under the active Chinese economic environment promoted by Chinese government policies.

Based on this, this acquisition is not only a good investment project for Chinese investors, it is expected to allow investors to obtain better returns and will also effectively promote the development of China's semiconductor industry. Coway Technology has become a Chinese company and has directly rewritten the international competition landscape of the image sensor market, accumulating valuable experience for the overseas acquisition of Chinese capital.