Himax to fully acquire Emza Visual Sense

Terms of the investment were not disclosed but the companies expect to close the transaction by the end of the second quarter, 2018. Emza is an Israeli company dedicated to the development of efficient visual sensors that include proprietary machine-vision algorithms and specific architectures that enable always-on visual sensing capabilities. Aiming at the booming computer vision market, Himax made a strategic cash investment for 45.1% equity of Emza in April 2017, with one-year options to acquire the remaining 54.9% of Emza’s equity and all outstanding stock options – which the Himax is now choosing to exercise. The acquisition will allow Himax to fully leverage the synergy between the two companies into producing visual sensors that integrate camera, hardware and algorithms and operate at unprecedented power, cost and size. Emza will continue as it is after the acquisition, and will maintain Emza company brand as well as the WiseEye brand product lines. “With the full acquisition of Emza, Himax will be uniquely positioned for IoT solutions, which require tight integration of the critical skills and knowledge of Himax’s CMOS technology and ASIC design with Emza’s computer vision algorithms. Himax will be positioned to offer significant value to our customers and to enter new markets beyond consumer electronics, such as connected homes, smart buildings and security, and extend our reach into new IoT markets with interest in other Himax products such as our 3D sensing solutions,” said Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Himax Technologies.