In February this year, Lite-On Technology sold its camera module business to Lijing Innovation, a subsidiary of Continental Luxshare Precision, and obtained 10% of its equity. After nearly six months, news broke out that Luxshare Precision's camera module companies may have new capital moves in the next two years.
Luxshare Precision plans to list its camera module business in Hong Kong
Luxshare Precision's listed company platform is expected to add another member. According to Bloomberg, Apple ’s AirPod assembler, Luxun Precision, plans to bring its camera module maker it acquired from Lite-On to the Hong Kong public within the next two years. Lixun Precision aims to challenge Chinese suppliers Sunny Optical and Offi Technologies to get more business from Apple.
In February of this year, Lite-On Technology held an interim board of directors, tentatively agreed to sell its camera module business to Hong Kong-owned enterprise Lijing Innovation for 360 million US dollars (about NT $ 10.6 billion), and obtained a 10% stake in it. The deal was formally settled in June this year.
According to relevant reports, this transaction is the first step taken by LLuxshare Precision in the camera module market. In addition, Lixun Precision will vigorously develop the camera module business in the future, and hopes to challenge Sunyu and Orpheus within a few years. Giants such as technology in the domestic camera module industry have expanded their business to the smartphone market.
In fact, since Lite-On Technology announced the sale of its camera module business, the company's camera module business has not been affected, and later customer orders will also be made by the new company.
From the client's perspective, Huawei, which is the largest manufacturer of dual-camera handset shipments, has been providing orders from Lite-On, and Huawei is Lite-On's largest customer.
It is understood that some camera modules of Huawei P20 series that Huawei has released this year are from the camera module division of Lite-On Technology.
However, the news that Luxshare Precision will let Lijing Innovation, the main camera module business in the future, plan to list in Hong Kong in the next 1-2 years. It also revealed that Luxun Precision intends to market the camera module. Show your muscles.
In fact, in terms of camera module technology and customers, Lite-On has its own advantages. However, in terms of market share in recent years, Lite-On Technology has experienced a large decline.
Throughout the current camera module market, mainland manufacturers have gained a seat, and the market position is steadily improving. Lite-On Technology has also seen a significant increase in the company's camera module shipments due to intensified market competition and other reasons. In this context, Lite-On reluctantly made a decision to sell.
Regarding the reasons for the sale, Lite-On Technology has also bluntly stated that due to the fierce competition in camera modules, considering the development of the company, it decided to sell the mobile phone, PC and tablet-related camera division.
In this regard, related research institutions believe that Lijing Innovation acquired the Lite-On camera module business unit at a high price for only one "ticket". Except for existing camera module factories with high-quality customer qualifications, there is not much choice, and more What is important is that "whether it is AR, VR, ADAS, Industrial Internet, AI, etc. in global hotspots, the demand for cameras in each industry is no less than that in the mobile phone industry, and has high strategic value.
In their view, choosing this ticket means to catch the express train in all future hotspots. From the perspective of industrial mergers and acquisitions, in addition to cross-border entry, the pattern of the automotive lens field is uncertain and capital operations are more.
Can Luxshare Precision play this card?
Since the beginning of its listing, Luxun Precision has continued to lay out new areas through targeted issuance and outbound mergers and acquisitions. The company's assets have also increased year by year.
According to public information, after the listing of Luxshare Precision, it mainly focused on the expansion of product categories of Apple mobile phones. In 2018, Luxun Precision continued to focus on the development ideas of “old customers, new products, old products, new customers”. The three new products of LCP back-end processing and wireless charging receiver are cut into Apple's supply system.
The company chose to buy Lite-On Technology at a high price or point to Apple orders.
In addition, the company is a leader in the domestic connector industry and a core supplier of Apple's industry chain. From the perspective of the entire product line of Luxshare Precision, Luxshare's precision products involve connectors, acoustics, RF devices, wireless charging, and FPC. , Linear motors and other fields.
Based on this, it can be found that many of Lixun Precision's product lines have entered the Apple supply chain. Furthermore, Lite-On's camera modules still have some competitiveness, so the company's camera modules have entered the Apple camera supply chain. Probably not without.
In fact, since Lite-On Technology sold its camera module business unit, some in the industry have also said, "At present, the biggest competitors of Ophey Technology and Sunny Optical Camera Modules should be Luxshare Precision, because the company Parts are already in Apple's supply chain, so it's very likely that it will be able to play this card. "
This statement is not without reason. First of all, from the perspective of competitors, although the camera module failure of Lite-On Technology is everyone's attention, it is very likely that with the strength of Luxshare`s precision technology, research and development, and diversified product lines Enter the Apple supply chain.
However, someone added that if Luxshare Precision could reduce the brain drain, quickly expand the market, and establish a customer system, then the company ’s camera module market has a huge imagination, but if it does, then high-end cameras Competitive pressure in the module market may further increase.