Canon said it had agreed to purchase part of NEC machinery, as well as to Anelva Corp., a subsidiary of NEC Corp that manufactures vacuum apparatuses.
Canon said it had earmarked 5.1 billion yen (46.8 million dollars) for the purchase of NEC
Machinery, in which NEC holds a 39.6 percent stake.If the purchase is successfully completed, Canon
will hold a 53.9 percent stake in NEC Machinery, Canon said Thursday.
With the aim of manufacturing surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) panels inside the
company, Canon will also acquire Anelva Corp., a subsidiary of NEC Corp. . Canon has reached a
basic agreement with NEC to acquire all Anelva shares currently held by NEC. Canon also said it has
decided to buy from NEC 100 percent of Anelva Corp, which makes flat panel devices, for an
undisclosed sum.
In manufacturing SED panels at a joint company formed by Canon and Toshiba, Canon intended from the
beggining to differentiate its products from other competitors' by increasing the portion of
production systems manufactured by itself and blackboxing the technology. Currently, however, it is
Toshiba's subsidiary, Shibaura Mechatronics, that primarily develops SED panel production systems,
with Canon hardly involved with the development. Through the acquisition of Anelva, Canon aims to
introduce its own group company's manufacturing systems into SED panel production.