Taiwan’s No.1 LED chipmaker Epistar Inc. is reportedly to will sign a patent cross-licensing agreement with its Japanese counterparts Nichia or Toyoda Gousei in a bid to further boost earnings and revenue.

Once the deal is concluded Taiwan’s LED industry would see its price/earnings ratio surge to at least 20 folds as a whole from current 15 folds or so, according to the industry executives estimated.

Epistar executives pointed out that Epistar now has a total of 1,200 patents, placing it in an advantageous position in patent-licensing negotiation, and the company has been vigorously pursing the opportunity to talk with LED heavyweights over patent cross-licensing deals.

Taiwan’s industry watchers welcome Epistar’s moves to sign patent cross-licensing deals with major players from the point of view that such efforts would give application providers peace of mind when using the company’s chips.