AU Optronics Corp. to Deregister American Depositary Shares and Underlying Ordinary Shares With the United States Securities and Exchange Commission

HSINCHU, Taiwan, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company"; OTC: AUOTY; TWSE: 2409) today announced that the Company will apply for the deregistration of its American depositary shares ("ADSs") and underlying ordinary shares with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and subsequently terminate its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").

The Board of Directors of AUO approved the deregistration of its ADSs and the underlying ordinary shares under the Exchange Act due to a number of considerations, including the significant administrative burden and costs of maintaining the registration of the ADSs with the SEC and complying with the periodic reporting and other related obligations of the Exchange Act.

AUO filed a Form 25 with the SEC on September 20, 2019 to delist its ADSs from the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and transferred to U.S. over-the-counter market on October 1, 2019. Since AUO has met the criteria for deregistration, AUO intends to file a Form 15F with the SEC on or about October 28, 2020 to deregister its ADSs and the underlying ordinary shares under the Exchange Act. Thereafter, all of AUO's reporting obligations under the Exchange Act will be suspended unless the Form 15F is subsequently withdrawn or denied. Deregistration of our ADSs with the SEC and termination of AUO's reporting obligations under the Exchange Act are expected to become effective 90 days after its filing of Form 15F with the SEC.

After deregistration, AUO will maintain its ADS program as a sponsored level I ADS program, which enables American investors and current holders of AUO ADSs to continue to hold and trade AUO ADSs in the US over-the-counter market.

Once the Form 15F is filed, AUO will publish the information required under Rule 12g3-2(b) of the Exchange Act on its website, www.auo.com. AUO will also continue to comply with its financial reporting and other obligations as a listed-issuer on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. As Taiwan securities laws and regulations have increasingly become more advanced, international investors can also refer to the Market Observation Post System (MOPS) for financial and regulatory information related to AUO.

AUO reserves its rights in all respects to delay or withdraw the aforementioned filings prior to their effectiveness and will issue any further announcement if required under applicable laws.

FAQs about ADSs delisting and deregistration:
https://www.auo.com.tw/en-global/Stock_Services/index/Shareholder_and_Service

ABOUT AU OPTRONICS

AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO") is one of the world's leading providers of optoelectronic solutions. Based on its profound R&D and manufacturing experience, AUO offers a full range of display applications and smart solutions integrating software and hardware, and leverages its core expertise to enter new business areas such as solar, smart retail, general health, circular economy and smart manufacturing service. Additionally, AUO has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since 2010. AUO's consolidated net revenues in 2019 were NT$268.79 billion. For more information, please visit AUO.com.

Safe Harbour Notice 

AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TWSE: 2409), a global leader of TFT-LCD panels, today announced the above news. Except for statements in respect of historical matters, the statements contained in this Release include "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our management's expectations, projections and beliefs at the time regarding matters including, among other things, future revenues and costs, financial performance, technology changes, capacity, utilization rates, yields, process and geographical diversification, future expansion plans and business strategy. Such forward looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including risks related to the flat panel display industry, the TFT-LCD market, acceptance of and demand for our products, technological and development risks, competitive factors, and other risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27, 2020. In addition, our SEC reports, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F contains other information on these and other factors that could affect our financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking information we may provide. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.

SOURCE AU Optronics Corporation