Philips $3.3-bn sale of Lumileds stumbles on US regulatory concerns
26 Oct 2015
Dutch electronics group Royal Philips NV today said that its planned $3.3-billion sale of its Lumileds business to Asian private equity firm Go Scale Capital was uncertain, due to concerns raised by the US government.
The Dutch company had announced in March that it would sell 80.1-per cent stake in its Lumileds business while retaining a 19.9 per cent stake for now.
Without elaborating, the Amsterdam-based company said that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) had expressed "certain unforeseen concerns" about the deal.
"Philips and Go Scale Capital will continue to engage with CFIUS and will take all reasonable steps to address its concerns, but given these, the closing of the transaction is uncertain," Philips said in a statement.
Philips had said in June 2014 it planned to merge its Lumileds LED components and automotive lighting divisions into a standalone subsidiary which could potentially be spun off.
Lumileds manufactures high-powered LED lights, while the automotive lighting division sells light sources to carmakers and auto parts and repair stores.
The two businesses notched up €1.4 billion in combined sales in 2013.