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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) February 25, 1999
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OAK TECHNOLOGY, INC.
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
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DELAWARE 0-25298 77-0161486
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer
incorporation) Identification No.)
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139 KIFER COURT, SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA 94086
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (408) 737-0888
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NONE
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
On February 25, 1999, the registrant announced in a press release
that Young K. Sohn has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and
President of the registrant. The registrant also announced that David D.
Tsang, founder of Oak Technology, will continue to hold the office of
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Richard B. Black, who was appointed
interim President in January 1998 and was also leading the Company's Optical
Storage Group, will serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors. A copy
of the press release issued in connection with this announcement is
incorporated herein by reference and is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
On February 26, 1999, the registrant announced in a press release
that William L. Housley has joined the registrant as President of its Optical
Storage Group. A copy of the press release issued in connection with this
announcement is incorporated herein by reference and is attached hereto as
Exhibit 99.2.
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ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
EXHIBIT NO. EXHIBIT
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99.1 Press Release dated February 25, 1999
99.2 Press Release dated February 26, 1999
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
OAK TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Date: March 3, 1999
By: \s\ Shawn M. Soderberg
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Name: Shawn M. Soderberg
Title: Vice President and General Counsel
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EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT NO. EXHIBIT
99.1 Press Release dated February 25, 1999
99.2 Press Release dated February 26, 1999
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EXHIBIT 99.1
PRESS RELEASE
Young K. Sohn Joins Oak Technology as CEO and President
Change in Leadership Represents Significant Milestone in Turnaround Efforts
David D. Tsang Continues as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Richard B. Black to Serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (02/25/1999) --- Oak Technology (NASDAQ:OAKT), a provider
of semiconductor solutions for the optical storage, consumer electronics and
digital office equipment markets, today announced that it has appointed Young
K. Sohn as Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Sohn, who joined Oak's
Board of Directors in January 1998, assumes leadership of Oak Technology
after his six-year tenure at Quantum Corporation where he was the President
of the Enterprise and Personal Storage Group, a division that represents
approximately 70 percent of that company's revenues. David D. Tsang, founder
of Oak Technology, will continue to hold the office of Chairman of the Board
of Directors and Richard B. Black, who was appointed interim President in
January 1998 and was also leading the Company's Optical Storage Group, will
serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Sohn and Tsang will jointly represent an Office of the Executive and
work together in strategic technology initiatives and business direction for
Oak. "Young's proven leadership in successful management and growth of
business operations will be a key catalyst in accelerating our turnaround
efforts," observed Tsang. "As a member of Oak's Board of Directors this past
year, Young is aware of both the challenges and opportunities facing the
Company and we believe his decision to accept leadership of Oak is
affirmation of its long-term potential. Both Rick Black and I extend our full
support to Young as he prepares to assume his new role at Oak," continued
Tsang.
Sohn brings a stellar track record as a proven industry veteran to his
new role at Oak Technology. Sohn joined Quantum in 1992 as the President and
Managing Director of Quantum Asia-Pacific where he was in charge of the
company's sales, marketing and service activities in the region and directed
operations for the Asia Pacific subsidiaries. In 1996, Sohn was promoted to
General Manager of the Desktop and Portable Storage Group where he was
responsible for Quantum's overall strategic and investments regarding hard
disk drive storage opportunities. Under Sohn's leadership, Quantum
maintained its number one leadership position as a provider of hard drives
for the PC market, with revenues reaching $4.6 billion at the close of fiscal
year 1998. Prior to Quantum, Sohn spent nine years at Intel Corporation
where he served as a marketing and sales executive and Director of Worldwide
Channel Marketing at Intel's reseller channel organization and initiated the
company's PC chipset business. Sohn holds a bachelor's degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in
business administration from MIT's Sloan School of Management.
"Joining Oak at this juncture in its history gives me a unique
opportunity
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to be a key architect of the Company's rebuilding process, which is already
underway," stated Sohn. "Despite some past problems with timely execution of
products, Oak's strengths remain undisputed: proven technical expertise in
core competency areas, valuable and patented intellectual property, and
strong customer relationships, especially in the Optical Storage and Digital
Office Equipment businesses," continued Sohn. "Translating these strengths
into profitability and growth for Oak stockholders will be my primary focus."
ABOUT OAK TECHNOLOGY
Founded in 1987, Oak Technology, Inc. designs, develops and markets
high-performance semiconductors and related software to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide who serve the optical storage, consumer
electronics, and digital office equipment markets. Oak has subsidiaries in
Japan (Oak Technology K.K.); Taiwan (Oak Technology, Taiwan); Andover, Mass.
(Pixel Magic, Inc.); Bristol, U.K. (Oak Technology Ltd.); and Munich, Germany
(Oak Technology GmbH). The Company completed its initial public offering in
February 1995. Additional information about Oak Technology and its products
can be found on the World Wide Web at www.oaktech.com.
Oak Technology and the Oak logo are registered trademarks of Oak
Technology, Inc. Pixel Magic is a trademark of Oak Technology. All other
product names or company names are mentioned for identification purposes
only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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EXHIBIT 99.2
PRESS RELEASE
Oak Technology Appoints William L. Housley as
President of its Optical Storage Group
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (2/26/99) --- Oak Technology (NASDAQ:OAKT), a provider of
high-performance semiconductors for the optical storage, consumer electronics
and digital office equipment markets, today announced that William L. Housley
has joined the Company as President of its Optical Storage Group.
Housley comes to Oak from Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector in
Austin, Texas, where he was Director of Business Operations for the Imaging
and Storage Division. Prior to that, Housley was at Cirrus Logic, Inc., where
he was Vice-President of the Mass Storage Controller Division and later, in
the Graphics Division. Housley joins Oak with extensive experience in
business unit management and marketing within the mass storage and CD-ROM
controller industries.
Oak has, in recent years, extended its proven market leadership in the
CD-ROM controller arena into the emerging CD-RW market segment. Oak's
first-generation CD-RW controller was designed into a majority of first
generation CD-RW drives, and the Company's second generation integrated
solution is expected to be used in CD-RW drives provided by several of the
industry's leading manufacturers. Oak Technology plans to introduce the first
of its integrated DVD controller solutions this calendar year.
"Oak has a wealth of intellectual property and valuable customer
relationships in the optical storage market," observed Housley. "It is a
combination that is hard to beat and positions the Company to maintain
leadership in the emerging CD-RW storage technology market."
"Oak's technical expertise in the optical storage arena is long-standing
and one that we are intent on furthering," stated Young Sohn, President and
CEO of Oak Technology. "Emerging markets, such as CD-RW and DVD, continue to
present Oak with new opportunities to reassert its market and technical
leadership. As I begin my new role at Oak, I'm pleased to have Bill working
with me to execute on this charter."
ABOUT OAK TECHNOLOGY
Founded in 1987, Oak Technology, Inc. designs, develops and markets
high-performance semiconductors and related software to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide who serve the optical storage, consumer
electronics, and digital office equipment markets. Oak has subsidiaries in
Japan (Oak Technology K.K.); Taiwan (Oak Technology, Taiwan); Andover, Mass.
(Pixel Magic, Inc.); Bristol, U.K. (Oak Technology Ltd.); and Munich,
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Germany (Oak Technology GmbH). The Company completed its initial public
offering in February 1995. Additional information about Oak Technology and
its products can be found on the World Wide Web at www.oaktech.com.
Oak Technology and the Oak logo are registered trademarks of Oak
Technology, Inc. Pixel Magic is a trademark of Oak Technology. All other
product names or company names are mentioned for identification purposes
only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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