Kyocera Corporation (NYSE: KYO)(TOKYO: 6971) today concluded a share transfer agreement with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. and NEC Corporation to acquire all shares of the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing company NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions, Inc. (herein “TNCSi”) in order to further strengthen and expand the Kyocera Group’s organic substrate business.
The market for PCBs is forecast to continue expanding steadily on the back of growing demand for telecommunications infrastructure equipment, and digital consumer electronics — centered on smartphones and mobile computing tablets.
The Kyocera Group has been expanding its business in the PCB market focusing on organic packages sold by its wholly owned subsidiary, Kyocera SLC Technologies (herein “KST”), which boasts one of the highest shares in the industry for FC-BGAs*1 used in high-end ASIC applications. KST also plans to expand its business territory through the recent full-fledged launch of smaller, lower profile FC-CSPs*2 for the high-growth smartphone and mobile computing tablet sectors.
Alternatively, TNCSi has focused its business in the PCB market on the motherboard field, by widely expanding its business territory by developing, manufacturing and selling extremely low profile and multilayer boards used in products ranging from high-end telecommunications infrastructure equipment, module PCBs used in smartphones, and PCBs for in-vehicle applications. By utilizing the company’s broad range of high-density PCBs and its high level of technology for low profile substrates, TNCSi has recently been developing some of the world’s lowest profile component-embedded PCBs which are expected to contribute to the further downsizing of smartphones and other electronics.
Through the acquisition of TNCSi, Kyocera will be able to further develop its business offerings and contribute to overall business expansion. The synergies created through combining the two companies’ technologies will allow for the development of new products to meet customers’ needs. With the Kyocera Group’s global sales network and TNCSi’s stable customer base, Kyocera will utilize both companies’ management resources to the fullest and aim to further expand its organic substrate business in the future.
