Taiwanese mid-power LED chip manufacturer and packager Prolight Opto recently submitted listing applications to the Taiwan bourse. The application is expected to be completed by the end of this quarter. Top Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar is one of Prolight Opto’s investors.

Epistar and FOREPI stockholders have approved the proposed merger between the two companies today, according to a report by Cynes.com. FOREPI stocks will be swapped at a rate of 3.448 per Epistar share. 

Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission recently approved Epistar and FOREPI’s merger.

The LED industry in China and Taiwan has gone from cooperation to competitive, said Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee. Even though China is still a major threat, Taiwan manufacturers cannot always choose to escape, or Taiwan will have no market strategies left. It is important to see where one’s opportunities are and think about whether Taiwan’s LED industry has any chances of winning. If there are opportunities then it is important to establish an environment beneficial to the industry’s development.

Major LED EPI-wafer and chip manufacturer Epistar’s revenue was up 30 percent to NT $ 8.13 billion (US $270 million) during second quarter of 2014. Growing backlight and lighting demands have benefited the company, but financial results for first half of 2014 might still be negative, due to huge losses incurred during first quarter, according to a Money DJ report. Third quarter 2014 financial results will be cushioned by the arrival of the peak season, and is estimated to assist the company in maintaining high profits throughout the season. 

Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturer Lite-On Technology has joined the ranks of two other Taiwanese LED manufacturers’ in selling its 3,900 shares in Epistar, according to a UDN report.

The merge between Taiwan’s two largest LED manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI has established the trend of forming alliances in the country’s LED industry, and the dawning of the oligopoly market. Since the two company’s merge on June 30, 2014, FOREPI has received LED lighting OEM orders from Epistar. No further restructures and adjustments have been made so far. What were the actual circumstances behind the birth of the new Epistar? What exactly happened behind the scenes? In this in-depth interview with Epistar Chief Financial Officer and Spokesman Rider Chang, LEDinside probes into the company’s mindset during the recent merge.

Everlight and Epistar’s combined market value in the next two years will overtake Nichia’s current ranking as world number one, a CNA report cited Everlight Chairman Robert Yeh saying.

As the LED lighting and backlight industry rebounds, Taiwan’s upstream and downstream LED manufacturers have all expanded to some degree, according to a Commercial Times report. Manufacturers including Everlight, Epistar, Lextar and Harvatek revenue are expected to grow during second half of 2014.

Top Taiwanese LED manufacturers Epistar and Everlight delivered strong revenue performances in 2Q14, according to statistics compiled by Chinese media Sinai.

Epistar reported good revenue performance in June, benefitting from high backlight and lighting demands, according to the China Times. Consolidated revenue in June reached NT $2.82 billion (US $94.2 million), increase of 0.85 percent MoM, making it the fourth consecutive month with record high revenue. Lextar performance in June was equally good, hitting a single month high of NT $1.36 million. FOREPI reported revenue of NT $500 million in June, up 4.36 percent MoM. 

The merger between LED chip manufacturer Epistar and FOREPI has generated much discussion in the industry. Industry insiders have different views on the trend of large LED upstream manufacturers dominating the market. While foreign investment firms are optimistic the merger will create a win-win situation for Epistar and FOREPI, other market insiders are concerned it will have a negative impact on downstream manufacturers.

Since Epistar’s announced the merger with Taiwan based LED manufacturer FOREPI, the industry has been concerned about rival San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) potential to undermine Epistar’s management.  

Epistar’s acquisition of FOREPI earlier this week rocked the LED industry. Foreign financial institutes have tooted the merger as a win-win for both sides, as it will boost Epistar’s global market shares to 20 percent and production capacity up 30 to 40 percent, according to a United Evening News report. 

Once news broke of Epistar’s acquisition of FOREPI, all eyes turned to China based chip manufacturer San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto), eager to see how the company would react. 

Top Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI have officially merged, the two companies announced at a joint press conference held in Taipei, Taiwan on June 30, 2014. The two companies announced the merger will integrate the two companies resources, production capacity, and staff to meet market demands and improve revenue performances.

Taiwan-based manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI today announced merge plans. Through conversion of shares, FOREPI will become a 100 percent fully owned subsidy of Epistar. The trend of acquisitions within the LED industry will continue in 2014, observed LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. Epistar’s merger with FOREPI will improve production capacity, cost management, as well as client and product integration. After the merge, the two companies will also be able to jointly resist market threats from Chinese LED chip manufacturer San’an Optoelectronics (San’anOpto). 

Epistar has finally decided to acquire FOREPI, and will be announcing the details of the deal later today, according to several Taiwanese media reports.

Leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar acquired bankrupt Taiwanese blue-ray CD and LaserDisc manufacturer Optodisc factory for NT $836 million, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Epistar plans to expand AlInGaP and InGaN LED production at the new factory site.

The arrival of LED industry’s prosperous three years is for real this time, a recent CNA report quoted Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee saying at the company’s latest stockholder meeting.

LED lighting penetration is rapidly increasing, according to Economic Daily News. It is estimated that after LED lighting popularizes by 2017, it will be succeeded by smart lighting. Industry insiders anticipate that the prosperity period will be longer than before, with LED chip manufacturers Epistar and LED package manufacturer Everlight being the largest beneficiaries. 

LED chip manufacturer Epistar has received orders from large European manufacturers including Philips after the launch of their new HV LED products in Germany earlier this year, according to Economic Daily News. The company has had an increase in orders due to the efficiency and cost advantage of the HV LED products. Production capacity operations this quarter have already reached maximum. 

May 15, 2014---LED chip market scale reached RMB 9 billion (US$1.45 billion) in China in 2013, a YoY of 16%, according to the latest “2014 Chinese LED Package Industry Market Report” by LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. 

Despite net losses during first quarter of 2014, financial analysts projected Epistar will benefit from U.S. and Europe lighting markets this year, and is expected to benefit from rising general LED lighting demands and stable demands in the display backlight market, according to a Taipei Times report.

Epistar released first fiscal quarter results for this year on May 7, 2014. The company noted a net operating profit of NT $319 million (US $10.6 million) and profit margin of 15.23 percent. However, impact from two financial evaluations that recognized losses of NT $1.32 billion resulted in Epistar after tax deficit of NT $841 million and EPS of negative NT $0.91. 

LED industry demand is booming, causing downstream epitaxial manufacturers to upstream package manufacturers to face the possibility of an undersupply situation. LED demands started strengthening from 4Q13 to 2Q14, said Zhang Shixian, Deputy General Manager of Epistar. Zhang estimates that demands will continue increasing in 3Q14. Epistar’s production capacity has already reached 90 percent. The company is now concerned that supply will not meet demand after 3Q14. 

The debate over the construction of Taiwan’s fourth nuclear power plant has been heating up. Alternative energy manufacturers have been eager to voice their opinions, urging the government to reconsider nuclear power as an energy source for the country. 

The LED lighting market has seen a boom in growth starting in the last half of 2013. Rapid growth is attributed to price drops, government policies, and rising cost in power usage, according to investment group CLSA. These three catalysts are anticipated to drive up LED lighting penetration rate from 20 percent in 2013 to 44 percent by 2016.

San’an Optoelectronics (San’an Opto) has big plans to become a force to be reckoned with both domestically and internationally. The company is expanding production capacity, releasing announcements one after another, according to a Money DJ report.

Intermolecular, Inc. announced that Epistar Corp. and Intermolecular have signed a multi-year extension of their existing collaborative development program (CDP) and royalty-bearing IP licensing agreement to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of Epistar's light emitting diode (LED) devices.