Kontron in joint-venture with Quanta Computer

The Executive Board of Kontron, the Taiwanese listed company and his affiliates are acquiring a 21% stake in Kontron Asia Inc., Taipei. Kontron Asia Inc. is the production organization of the Kontron Group which included its production plant in Penang, Malaysia. Both parties have signed a relevant purchase agreement today. The closing of the transaction is expected during the course of March. Kontron will retain both the operating management of, and a voting right majority in, the enterprise. Both Kontron and Quanta expect to benefit equally from the advantages the partnership offers. Kontron 's main objective is to optimize its manufacturing costs for embedded computers using Quanta's purchasing and production conditions to achieve the cost leadership in purchasing and production in the embedded market place. Quanta will benefit from diversifying its production capacities in the industrial market. With over 40,000 employees globally, Quanta produces around 30% of worldwide laptops per year, and generated total revenue of over EUR 16 billion in 2007. "Volumes are constantly rising in the high-growth embedded computer market, particularly for applications in the POI/POS, cash machine, infotainment, and gaming areas. The new Joint Venture between Quanta and Kontron now allows Kontron AG to offer volumes of 100,000 embedded computer systems per year on a competitive basis," commented Kontron CEO, Ulrich Gehrmann.