Rohm and Haas acquires OLED-maker Gracel Display

-- Converting Magazine, 4/15/2008

Specialty-materials maker Rohm and Haas Co. (www.rohmhaas.com) of Philadelphia acquires Gracel Display, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) materials, on April 7. The deal, worth approximately $40 million, gives Rohm and Haas controlling interest in South Korea-based Gracel.

The acquisition of Gracel and its portfolio of OLED materials broadens Rohm and Haas’s growing Display Technologies business, the company says. Rohm and Haas manufactures TFT (thin film transistor) photoresists and related materials as part of its Display Chemicals group, and added Optical Display Films when it acquired Eastman Kodak’s Light Management Films business in June 2007. Rohm and Haas launched SKC Haas Display Films in December 2007, a new joint venture that develops and manufactures advanced films and filters for LCD and plasma displays.  Including the acquisition of Gracel, Rohm and Haas has invested $270 million during the last 12 months to build its Display Technologies business unit.

Advanced OLED technology offers many performance benefits to improve the brightness, clarity and efficiency of flat panel displays. OLED consumes a fraction of the power compared to traditional display technologies (an important consideration in portable devices), and offers higher brightness and contrast for ultra clear pictures, wider viewing angles and an extremely thin design. The use of OLEDs in displays is expected to grow significantly in the next 10 years, the company says.