Mumbai: Moser Baer and global giant Philips today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Moser Baer will acquire OM&T BV, a highly specialised technology company for optical R&D, which currently is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Philips

According to Ratul Puri, executive director, Moser Baer India, "This acquisition is a major strategic milestone for Moser Baer as we implement our strategy to be at the forefront of technology in both the optical and solar photovoltaic (PV) segments."

This acquisition will complement the existing cutting edge technology research being done in Moser Baer's R&D center in India and help the global number two player in the optical media market to further consolidate its leadership position. According to the agreement, all IP created by OM&T will be transferred to Moser Baer. The joint venture will also focus on development of photovoltaic technologies to support Moser Baer's PV business.

According to Dr Nic Kramer, senior vice president, corporate investments, Philips International BV, "This is synergistic move, and I am sure that Moser Baer's high technology manufacturing competencies along with OM&T's R&D capabilities will ensure that we see innovative products in the immediate future."

While OM&T has been instrumental for developing new optical media solutions and technologies creating new markets via global standardization, its pioneering work in Blu-ray and its status of being the only company outside Japan which is shipping Blu-ray discs will jumpstart Moser Baer's objective of being amongst the first few global manufacturers of the Blu-ray disc.

Moser Baer's proprietary patented L2H (low to high) technology, along with OM&T competencies in the H2L (high to low) technology will ensure that Moser Baer leads in Blu-ray disc technology and manufacture. Having already established a first mover advantage in HD DVD-R format, the company will now extend its technology leadership position in the Blu-ray media as well as other new formats like Holographic Storage.

"OM&T brings to MBI not only its state-of-the-art Blu-ray disc testing and manufacturing capabilities, world class mastering and stamper making expertise, test and professional discs opportunities but also a pool of highly qualified scientists and engineers," said Girish Baluja, COO, Moser Baer India. "This talented pool will augment Moser Baer's capabilities in the areas of optical media, PV and beyond,"Balija added.

Dr. Jan van den Brink, GM OM&T, says, "I believe that the combined R&D efforts will ensure that we can become a hub of global optical media and photovoltaic research in the world."

OM&T will also help Moser Baer's entry in the Test Disc market, in which OM&T is a leading player. Test Discs enable disk manufacturers to test and calibrate their drives.

With the agreement, Moser Baer will also be able to leverage OM&T's best in class mastering and stamper making capabilities. Moser Baer and OM&T will complement each other well in terms of key R&D initiative and help Moser Baer in further establish the company's leadership position

OM&T also possesses world class capabilities in thin film, wet chemical processing, optics & concentration and testing procedures which will enable Moser Baer to take a significant leap forward in R&D efforts in multiple PV technology forays.

Moser Baer, headquartered in New Delhi, India, was established in 1983. It has successfully developed cutting edge technologies for recordable optical media, constantly innovating and introducing new products and process.

OM&T BV is the former 'Optical Media and Technology" (OM&T) development group of philips; the core activity of OM&T is to sell disc DVD and Blu-Ray related technology to big disc replicators. OM&T has been instrumental in developing new optical media solutions and technologies creating new markets via global standardization.