IRVINE, CALIF. — Mobile accessories and memory supplier Dane Elec USA is merging with Taiwan-based accessories manufacturer Gigastone.
Gigastone will take a majority stake in Dane-Elec while Dane-Elec parent New Dane will maintain a minority holding position. Exact shares and other terms were not disclosed.
New Dane is a France-based investment group.
“We look forward to combining the individual strengths of Gigastone and Dane-Elec to effectively penetrate both the North and South American markets,” said Michel Hassan, general manager of Dane-Elec USA. “Gigastone has an extensive background in research and development that will be an invaluable asset to the company when introducing new products.”
Dane-Elec is primarily known for its memory cards as well as a wide variety of licensed flash drive offerings from such well-known brands as Marvel Comics, Hello Kitty and Duracell. It also markets portable music players, external hard drives and the My-Ditto home network server.
Gigastone holds patents in a variety of mobile categories including power banks, wireless charging, Ethernet and 3G technologies. The company opened a new 50,000-square-foot factory in Taiwan in July.
“Dane-Elec brings a strong sales and marketing team that complements the research and development side of Gigastone,” said Michael Wang, CEO and chairman of Gigastone. “We are confident that this new corporate structure will be prosperous for all involved.”
