"...Oak Technology announced today that it has acquired Accel Technology Ltd., an Osaka, Japan-based design engineering firm that focuses on turnkey CD-RW, and DVD Recordable drives for PC and consumer use. Oak has used Accel's design services since Accel was founded in 1995. The acquisition expands Oak's global design capabilities for optical storage and allows Oak to more quickly introduce turnkey product to the PC and consumer markets.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Oak will purchase all outstanding shares of Accel Technology Ltd. Accel will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak technology and will be integrated into Oak's Optical Storage Group (OSG). Accel will continue to operate under the Accel Technology name, retain its existing customers, and be guided by Accel president Masaharu Morishima, who will become vice president of the Accel Technology Division within OSG. Mr. Morishima will report to Shlomo Waser, senior vice president and general manager, OSG.

Representative designs completed by Accel include CD-ROM drives for a major manufacturer's game consoles, half-height and slim combo (CD-RW/DVD) and CD-RW drives, and DVD- recordable appliances, for a number of brand name CE manufacturers, including Ricoh, Sega and Tottori Sanyo, and other unannounced leading optical drive manufacturers.

Earlier this year, Oak opened an analog design center in Manchester, England and also has design facilities at its headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA; Woburn, MA; Taipei, Taiwan; and Guangdon, China. Accel's facilities in Osaka will become part of this global design network..." NULL