Photronics closes JV with Dai Nippon Printing

The joint venture, Photronics DNP Mask Corporation (PDMC), will focus on serving semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan. The closing followed regulatory approvals received from Taiwan authorities on March 28, 2014. Photronics and DNP own 50.01% and 49.99% of the joint venture, respectively. Governance of PDMC will be shared by Photronics and DNP through a seven member board of directors with four Photronics members and three DNP members. Constantine (“Deno”) Macricostas, Photronics' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “This is a very exciting day for our customers, partners and employees. Photronics DNP Mask Corporation provides a combination of high-end technology and manufacturing capacity, with scale and efficiency to offer superior long-term, strategic capabilities for our customers in the region. Our high-end technology, strong financial foundation and efficient operating model offer a powerful and sustainable solution for semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan.” Koichi Takanami, Executive Vice President, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. stated, “Taiwan is an important photomask market. Photronics DNP Mask Corporation will bring to that market a combination of DNP's logic photomask technologies, Photronics, Inc.'s memory photomask technologies, and economies of scale. We will continue to work hard at customer satisfaction by maximizing both companies' strengths in order to provide enhanced products and services.”