| Taiwanese LED maker Opto Tech has announced that two Japanese companies, Nichia and Hitachi Cable, will purchase a total of 12.8% of the company through a private placement.
The deal is due to be completed on July 29, according to an article in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported on DigiTimes.com.
LED manufacturer Nichia and materials supplier Hitachi Cable will each hold a 6.4% stake in Opto Tech.
In August 2004, Nichia announced a licensing deal with Nichia relating blue LEDs, marking the first time that Nichia had struck a patent deal with a Taiwan-based company.
Opto Tech has forecast that its Nichia-branded blue-LED shipments will total 500 million units in 2005, ramping from 50 million units in the first quarter to 200 million units in the final quarter of the year.
The LED chips are being supplied to several packaging firms in Taiwan, China and South Korea.
Opto Tech stated in a June 24 company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) that it plans to raise its capex (capital expenditure) budget to NT$7.03 billion by issuing about 96.7 million new shares through a private placement.
In addition, Opto Tech recently landed orders from an unspecified Japan-based handset manufacturers and home-appliance makers through Nichia and Hitachi Cable, with volume shipments slated for the second half of this year, the Chinese-language Commercial Times report indicated. Opto Tech declined to comment on the news, citing customer confidentiality. | 
