TrendForce Expects Epistar and TSMC’s Cross-Industry Alliance Will Speed Up Changes and Innovations in the LED Industry

Epistar Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Board of Directors held simultaneous meetings to approve the sale of all shares of TMSC Solid State Lighting (TSMC SSL)  to Epistar at NT$ 1.46 per share, with the total price amounts to NT$ 825 million. Epistar will control 94% of TSMC SSL holdings after this acquisition. While TSMC will completely relinquish its control of TSMC SSL, the business operations will be jointly manned by the present TSMC SSL team and Epistar personnel. 

Epistar’s first announcement in 2015 came soon after its last year’s merger with FOREPI in order to increase production capacity, manage cost, and consolidate orders and product lines. “This merger shows that Epistar is moving away from the LED business model and learning the operation management of semiconductor manufacturing by marshalling TSMC organizational talents,” said Joanne Wu, Associate Manager of LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. 

Epistar is also presently moving away from 6" sapphire wafer production, and with this newest merger it will be able to race ahead of the learning curve for the manufacturing of larger wafers and make further advancements in wafer level package. At the same time, Epistar’s acquisition also show that it has created a geographical advantage to reach its epi wafer production target, considering that TSMC SSL has the sophisticated facilities and the perfect location to establish a firm production base close to home.  LEDinside expects this cross-sector will be advantageous for Epistar in technology and client base. Anticipate sparks of innovations and potential improvements in the industry.