Feb 1 2010
Unidym, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR), today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to create a joint venture partnership with Wisepower, a publicly traded Korean company (KOSDAQ: 040670), to market and co-develop Unidym's proprietary film and electronic ink products into the Korean touch panel and display industries. The newly formed entity will be called Unidym Korea.
“South Korea is becoming an increasingly important geography for our target markets in touch panel, LCD and other display and solar markets,” said Mark Tilley, CEO of Unidym. “We are honored to be working with a company of Wisepower's caliber. Wisepower has demonstrated its ability to effectively build new businesses in electronics. By creating Unidym Korea in partnership with Wisepower, we will have the local presence to support our efforts with major Korean display manufacturers and accelerate our business development activities with local partners.”
“With its superior product offerings and dominant intellectual property portfolio, we believe Unidym is the world leader in CNT electronics,” said Gi Ho Park, CEO of Wisepower. “We look forward to working with Unidym to expand this business in Korea. Furthermore, we intend to explore the possible applications of CNTs in the areas of LEDs and rechargeable batteries. This cooperation with Unidym will enable Wisepower to use new materials such as CNTs to enhance its rechargeable batteries and LED product position in the market.”
Unidym will retain a significant ownership position in Unidym Korea in exchange for a license to the new company for certain intellectual property. Under the arrangement, Unidym has agreed to supply its carbon nanotube based transparent conductive film to Unidym Korea. Wisepower has agreed to contribute operating capital and provide local manufacturing, sales, and distribution expertise.
Unidym is a leader in carbon nanotube-based transparent, conductive films (TCFs) for the electronics industry. TCFs are a critical component in devices such as touch panels, displays, and thin-film solar cells. For example, both touch panels and LCDs typically employ two TCF layers per device. Unidym's TCFs offer substantial advantages over the incumbent technology, indium-based metal oxides, including: improved durability, lower processing costs, and lower overall cost structure.