Moser Baer, HP tie up for optical media

MUMBAI: Moser Baer India has entered into a technology license agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP) to manufacture optical media using "LightScribe" technology.

According to the company, as one of the first media companies collaborating with HP on the deployment of LightScribe technology, Moser Baer is working to enhance the manufacturing, functionality and appeal of customized recordable and rewritable optical media for professional, commercial and consumer applications. This is for the first time that Moser Baer has entered into such type of agreement after raising over Rs 650 crore from foreign institutional investors early this week.

To make room for a higher FII stake, the company's directors have also cleared a proposal to raise the limit of FII holding in the company from 40 percent to 74 percent. A 100 percent FII holding is permitted in the sector. At present, FIIs like Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation and JF Electra hold a 29 percent stake in the company.

The board has also given its nod to a proposal to increase the company's authorized share capital from Rs 110 crore to Rs 150 crore. The company is now planning to invest more money in expanding its recordable DVD manufacturing capacity. Moser Baer's DVD manufacturing unit, commissioned in 2002, has an installed capacity of 1.5 million DVDs a year.

(CyberMedia News Service)