Samsung Electronics buys Dutch LCD firm

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it had acquired Liquavista, the pioneer of a new screen technology that the South Korean giant hopes will boost its liquid crystal display (LCD) business.

Samsung said it would build on the Dutch firm's "electrowetting" technology, which it said allows for bright, colourful and easy-to-read displays in any light environment, and uses less energy.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of flat screens and memory chips, did not disclose how much the deal was worth.

Electrowetting can be applied to e-readers, mobile phones, media players and other mobile devices, said Samsung, which is taking on Apple's iPad with a tablet computer called the Galaxy Tab.

"With the acquisition of Liquavista, Samsung aims to strengthen its leadership in (the) next-generation display industry by pioneering the application of electrowetting in e-paper and transparent displays," the company said in a statement.

The Eindhoven-based Liquavista, which was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from Philips Research Labs, joins Samsung's growing LCD business as flat-panel televisions and mobile screens explode in popularity worldwide.

Samsung Electronics in 2008 acquired intellectual property assets of US firm Clairvoyant, allowing it to develop new LCDs with less power consumption. It also acquired Israeli semiconductor technology provider TransChip in 2007.

(c) 2011 AFP