In a cash deal, Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) has revealed that it has invested in Emza Visual Sense Ltd. This will now see Himax get a 45.1% equity stake in the company. Himax Technologies will also have 12 months during which it can acquire the remaining stake of 54.9% in Emza.
If Himax decides to acquire the remaining equity stake in Emza, it will still be a cash deal. There will also be earnout payments due to Emza and these will be determined by the performance of the Israel-based visual sensor firm.
“This strategic investment in Emza compliments our previously announced ultra-low power CMOS image sensor product and initiatives in delivering turn-key solutions for ‘always-on’ smart camera,” Jordan Wu, Himax’s chief executive officer, said.
Advanced smart cameras
Wu added that the investment would enable the two companies to come up with products that would allow for contextual awareness in real-time and thereby enabling face detection as well as detection of human presence and human motion. This would transform Himax’s AoS sensor from one that serves as an image capturing device to one that offers customers more value.
According to Wu, with highly efficient algorithms, sensors, processor and camera architectures that consume extremely low power, the technology could easily be integrated into smartphones, television sets, augmented reality devices, Internet of Things devices and virtual reality devices.
High near infrared sensitivity
The deal comes a little over two weeks since a Himax Technologies’ subsidiary, Himax Imaging, launched a new sensor capable of delivering a quantum efficiency level of 44% and therefore opening the way for computer vision applications that are eye-safe in compact devices that include smartphone cameras. It also includes cameras for other devices such as drones, wearables and notebooks.
Owing to the high near infrared sensitivity of the sensor, these devices will be able to capture high quality images. It will also make the processing and analyzing of image data more effective. Additionally it will also be possible to capture data that would not have been otherwise detected when using a sensor with a low near infrared sensitivity.
On Thursday shares of Himax Technologies Inc edged up by 0.12% to close the day at $8.40.
