January 4, 2007 – Plastic Logic, Cambridge, UK, says it has closed $100 million in equity financing, one of the largest VC deals ever in Europe, to help it build a new facility to produce commercial volumes of flexible active-matrix display modules by 2008.

The new facility, to be located in Dresden, Germany, will produce up to a million display modules/year for portable electronic reader devices, a market projected to grow to 41.6 million units by 2010, the company noted.

John Mills, COO of Plastic Logic, said in a statement, that the company’s displays will enable electronic readers “that are as comfortable and natural to read as paper,” with wireless connectivity to download books or articles, and battery life lasting for thousands of page-reads.

Simon Jones, VP of product development, added that the company’s research indicates that people are consciously trying to remove the bulk and weight of paper in their everyday lives, but remain reluctant to read on laptops, phones, or PDAs. “We believe there is a substantial unfulfilled need that Plastic Logic can meet by making digital reading a comfortable and pleasurable experience,” he stated.

The VC round was led by Oak Investment Partners and Tudor Investment Corp., with participation from existing investors Amadeus, Intel Capital, Bank of America, BASF Venture Capital, Quest for Growth, and Merifin Capital.