Oerlikon Sells Optics Business at Balzers
Oerlikon OC said it agreed to sell its optical coatings business located at Balzers, Liechtenstein, to a management buyout group. Oerlikon said it is also in divestiture discussions regarding its optics business units located in Golden, Colo., and Shanghai, China.
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 10/27/2008 10:40:00 AM
“We are following up on our strategy to streamline the Oerlikon portfolio,” said Uwe Krüger, CEO of OC Oerlikon. “In view of its size and focus on niche markets, the optical coating business no longer fits into the OC Oerlikon business strategy. The new management will continue to run the optical coating business successfully, especially as it enjoys the local support of private investors from Liechtenstein.”
The unit has annual sales of ~$30M. Beginning in January, it will operate under the new name, Optics Balzers AG. Designated CEO Martin Kaspar said Optics Balzers “will benefit from a very good market position, and we will expand the traditional business in both existing and new attractive niche markets going forward.”
| The executive board of Optics Balzers AG will comprise Martin Kaspar (CEO and member of the board of directors), Esther Schneider (finance), Dirk von Frajer (marketing and sales), Norman Korner (production), Othmar Zueger (R&D) and Guglielmo Cappellari (product management). |