Universal Display's Stock Jumps on Samsung Agreement
On Tuesday, Ewing-based Universal Display Corp. announced that it had entered into OLED patent license and supplemental material purchase agreements with Samsung Mobile Display (SMD). Samsung is a world leader in the manufacture and sale of active-matrix displays.
The announcement sent Universal’s stock soaring as investors bet on the future of this company. It also set off a rash of speculation about the growing OLED display market. In 2010 MarketsandMarkets, an industry market research firm, predicted that the OLED market would reach $2.2 Billion by 2014.
Universal Display is a rare tech manufacturing commodity in N.J. The company occupies a 40,000 square foot facility where it performs OLED tech development and fabricates prototypes. Universal Display has had an 11-year long relationship with Samsung, the company said in a press release, adding that “SMD and Universal Display will continue to work closely to accelerate growth of the OLED display industry through the development of state-of-the-art, energy-efficient OLED products.”
Several analysts weighed in on the Universal Display deal, with Jamie Townsend of TownHall Investment Research telling Forbesthat OLED displays could be used in a wide array of smartphones, including the iPhone. Others pointed to an announcement by LG that it would also produce an OLED phone as a reason to see an expanded market for the technology.
Under the supplemental agreement, SMD has agreed to purchase and Universal Display has agreed to supply a minimum amount of phosphorescent OLED material for SMD’s use in the manufacture of licensed products, subject to Universal Display being able to supply sufficient quantities to meet SMD’s requirements. The agreements run through December 31, 2017.
