IQE plc : IQE's partner Solar Junction Corporat...

Cardiff, UK. 24 March 2014: IQE plc (AIM: IQE; "IQE", "the Group") announces that its minor equity stake in the  share capital of Solar Junction Corporation (SJC), has been acquired by a new strategic investor, as part of an acquisition of SJC. The new investor  has a strong interest in accelerating the large scale global adoption and commercialisation of SJC's CPV technology.

The identity of the new investor, and specific terms of the acquisition, are not yet public and covered under non disclosure agreements. IQE can confirm, however, that its exclusive long term wafer supply agreement using SJC's unique dilute nitride technology, agreed when IQE invested in SJC in 2012, will be unaffected by this transaction. The return to SJC equity shareholders, including IQE, will be deferred and contingent upon specific aspects of SJC's future business development. Further details will be provided in due course.

In February 2012, IQE invested $5m in a 9.8% equity stake in order to obtain exclusive rights to supply  SJC with  high efficiency advanced Concentrated PhotoVoltaic (CPV) wafers using  SJC's unique dilute nitride materials technology through a long term supply agreement.  The primary investors in SJC at that time were several US-based venture capitalists. The technology has subsequently been successfully transferred to IQE's large volume production tools, and world record efficiencies of 44.1% have been achieved from  this production platform for standard triple junction cells. IQE has since been supplying wafers to SJC on a commercial basis under the terms of the Wafer Supply Agreement.

As anticipated at the time, SJC has required subsequent equity fundraisings, which were supported by its venture capital investors, but in which IQE did not participate. However, the longer term objective of SJC, having obtained volume manufacturing credibility through the technology transfer and manufacturing agreements with IQE, has always been to secure a major strategic investor to better facilitate and accelerate the commercialisation and global  adoption of its technology.  IQE has fully supported this initiative.  SJC's success in attracting this strategic investor marks another major milestone in accelerating the company's growth and commercialisation plan of its unique CPV technology.

Contacts

IQE plc
[phone]
Drew Nelson
Phil Rasmussen
Chris Meadows

Canaccord Genuity
[phone]
Simon Bridges
Cameron Duncan

Peel Hunt

[phone]

Richard Kauffer
Daniel Harris

Instinctif Partners
[phone]
Adrian Duffield
Kay Larsen

NOTE TO EDITORS

ABOUT IQE

www.iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers ('epiwafers') to the major chip manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; and optical communications.

The Group also manufactures advanced optoelectronic and photonic components such as semiconductor lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and optical sensors for a wide range of applications including optical fibre communications, optical storage (CD, DVD, BluRay), thermal imaging, leading-edge medical products, pico-projection, finger navigation ultra-high brightness LEDs, and high efficiency concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way, IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE operates a number of manufacturing and R&D facilities across Europe, Asia and the USA. The Group also delivers its products and services through regional sales offices located in major economic centres worldwide

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The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: IQE plc via Globenewswire

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