Philips announced back in March of 2015
that the company planned to sell its majority interest in its combined
LED components and automotive lighting business to a Chinese consortium
led by GO Scale Capital. Subsequently news broke in October that
regulators in the United States had concerns, and on January 22, 2016,
Phillips confirmed that the sale was no longer happening.
The news of a Chinese company or
investment firm purchasing a western company is not, by itself, an
uncommon occurrence; however, the important consideration now is how
this news affects the future of Philips, one of the largest electronics
companies in Europe, says IHS in a new Research Note on the competitive
landscape for LED components.
For the past four years, Lumileds has made steady progress in the market for packaged LEDs. The company rose from fifth ranking globally in 2011 to third, behind first ranked Nichia and second-ranked Osram in 2015.
Recent provisional research from IHS
indicates that, over the past three months, Lumileds may not have closed
the gap any further, as Osram Opto Semiconductors continues to perform
well in the automotive sector. It is unclear whether Western LED
companies would be comfortable with the idea of a supplier moving from
European ownership to Chinese ownership.
Overall the fact that this deal was
blocked is not good news for Philips. The current state of both the LED
industry and the global economy augurs that the sale of Lumileds will
not be an easy one. Also, the blocking of one foreign company does not
bode well for the potential sale to other foreign companies, as other
foreign buyers will also have concerns over further regulation.
No comments:
Post a Comment