May 10 2006
Cree has announced that it has signed a five-year supply agreement with Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a strategic LED chip customer headquartered in Korea. Seoul Semiconductor has committed to purchase at least $40 million of LED products during the first five quarters of the agreement. Purchase commitments for subsequent periods are to be negotiated annually. The agreement extends through Cree's fiscal year ending June 2011 and may be extended up to five additional years if certain sales conditions are met.
Cree also today announced that the parties have entered into a license agreement pursuant to which the parties have cross-licensed certain patent rights relating to white LED technologies and have agreed to cooperate in defending these rights. The license granted by Cree to Seoul Semiconductor includes Cree's U.S. Patent No. 6,600,175 and is one of several Cree has granted to its strategic partners under the ‘175 patent.
“We are pleased to announce these agreements with Seoul Semiconductor, which are the results of several years of strong cooperation between our two companies to win market share for white LEDs. Our success to date has been mostly focused on design wins in the Korean market and we look to further expand this success on a worldwide scale over the next several years,” commented Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s chairman and chief executive officer.
“As our business continues to grow, it is important to align with other industry leaders. Reaching this long-term supply agreement with Cree provides access to leading LED technology. Our partnering on wider technologies paves the way for added success in future applications,” commented Chung H. Lee, Seoul Semiconductor’s president. “With the Cree technology, Seoul Semiconductor is positioned for further expansion of our business.”
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