Acer will participate in the private placement of 36.5 million new common shares of AOPEN at a price of NT$11.5 per share (after adjustment for AOPEN’s capital reduction), and the total amount of approximately NT$420 million. After this private placement, Acer will own 51% of AOPEN shares.

By participating in this private placement, Acer will be able to share resources with AOPEN and allow both sides to better complement one another to create synergy. The move will help integrate Acer’s cloud, display devices, digital signage platform, and various software application services with AOPEN’s expertise in media display hardware and software solutions. Through the leveraging of combined global resources and channels, Acer and AOPEN will be able to create a bigger economy of scale and strengthen the development of Acer’s digital signage business.

This development comes at a time when Acer is ready to speed up the expansion of digital signage as part of its new businesses. This latest move follows the success of its digital signage solution in Germany, provided through Acer Being Signage GmbH. The solution has been well received by clients, including those in retail and fast food, and is now deployed at motorway service areas.

AOPEN began restructuring its organization in 2017 in order to accelerate its transformation to become a key player in digital signage platform product and solutions segment. Meanwhile, to strengthen its financial structure and promote business growth, AOPEN’s 2017 annual shareholders’ meeting passed the resolution for a capital reduction to offset accumulated deficits, and to seek strategic investors through a private placement of shares.