Prime View International (PVI) signed an agreement to acquire eInk Corporation (producer of electrophoretic used in Amazon Kindle and Sony PRS eReaders) for $215,000,000. PVI has been consolidating eInk related assets for quite some time, starting with acquision of ePaper business from Philips in 2005. In 2008 PVI acquired Hydis technologies, a company that produces elements for eInk screens.
Most analysts agree that this will eventually lead to cheaper eInk displays available to device manufacturers like Sony and Amazon. However eInk CEO Russ Wilcox told Forbes in an interview that integrating two companies will take time so there will be no immediate price drop.
Well, it’s good news for us consumers…
Full press release can be found here.