SAN JOSE — E Ink Corp. bought a San Jose office building for $22.7 million in a deal that gives the firm a large space for its operations, according to documents filed on June 30 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

Located at 3200 North First St., the deal for the empty building came about through a receiver-supervised sales effort that was ordered by a Santa Clara County Superior Court.

E Ink describes itself as a leader in technology that enables electronic displays to look like printed paper. The advancements are often used in e-books and in electronic signs. A group of MIT undergraduates and professors co-founded E Ink in 1997. A Taiwan-based company now owns it, though it is still based in Massachusetts.

The North San Jose office building was placed in a receivership after the prior owner of the building, an affiliate of a San Francisco-based business entity, defaulted on a $19.8 million loan that Wells Fargo Bank provided to finance the property. The affiliate’s general manager is listed as Dennis J. Wong, state business records show.

At one point, Nio USA, a unit of China-based electric vehicle maker Nio, had leased the entire two-story office building, which totals 85,000 square feet, according to Santa Clara County Court records.

In 2019, however, Nio USA began to slash jobs at its office site. Nio USA told state labor officials of its decision to eliminate 200 jobs in San Jose.

By September 2023, Nio USA had exited once its lease term expired. In October 2023, the owner of the building began to miss payments on the mortgage.

The lender’s trustee filed a lawsuit in July 2024 that asked a Santa Clara County judge to appoint a receiver to take control of the empty office building.

The receiver hired Colliers, a commercial real estate firm, to market the building for sale and to scout for potential buyers, court records show. Colliers executives Andy Zighelboim, Kevin Moul and Tom Olson led the successful sales effort.

“In total, we received five unique offers for the property,” the court-ordered receiver, Douglas Wilson, stated in a filing on June 2.

E Ink made an offer on the building, which led to an auction of the property that E-Ink won after the price was bid up. Colliers broker Paul McManus represented E-Ink in the transaction.

“The purchase price is not only fair but also represents the highest purchase price for the property, in light of current market conditions,” the receiver stated in a court filing.

E Ink Corp. is a “potential owner-user” of the office building, court files state.