Today OLEDinfo.com published a series of articles on flexible OLED products that underlie unfounded attributions about some undisclosed Universal Display Corp. (“UDC”; NASDAQ: OLED) interest in LG’s and/or Samsung’s flexible OLED inventions. OLEDinfo did not disclose that its founder owns UDC stock. The site is controlled by Ron Mertens. Mr. Mertens is a 37 year old self-described web entrepreneur living in Israel. He controls OLEDinfo through MetalGrass. Mr. Mertens has no expertise in OLED flexible products, phosphorescent or fluorescent emitter materials, or the existing competition in this small esoteric emitter materials market.
Another of Mr. Merten’s promotional sites is a controversial promoter of graphene. The Wall Street Journal stated that “Graphene …is still far too expensive … it doesn’t lend itself to use in some computer-chip circuitry and scientists are still trying to find better ways to turn it into usable form.” Some U.S. vendors are selling a layer of graphene on copper foil for about $60 a square inch. Kenneth Teo, a director at the Cambridge unit of Germany’s Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) that makes machines to produce graphene has stated that “[graphene] needs to be around one dollar per square inch for high-end electronic applications such as fast transistors, and for less than 10 cents per square inch for touch-screen displays.”
UDC has not been forthcoming to its investors about the termination date and clauses of its Samsung agreement and has chosen to use highly controversial accounting methods that do not comply with generally accepted accounting principles to report revenues. UDC has refused to disclose important terms of its Samsung agreement, including the list of patents covered by its license. UDC has not disclosed that it would receive any payments for any reason from LG or Samsung related to their flexible OLED products. UDC’s relationship with Samsung and its accounting of revenues it generated from this agreement are under scrutiny.