Publishing its first quarter results this week, Philips provided an update on last month’s announcement that it was to sell an 80.1% interest in Lumileds, Philips’ combined LED components and automotive lighting business, to investment fund GO Scale Capital.
The Lumileds and automotive business is now reported as discontinued operations and in Q1, the unit’s net profit decreased 14% year on year to €37 million. Philips’ overall net profit in Q1 declined 27% to €100 million.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, after which the new company will continue under the Lumileds name and will be led by CEO Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre. The transaction includes the transfer of a broad patent portfolio of more than 600 patent families related to LED manufacturing and automotive lighting from Philips to Lumileds. The agreement values the Lumileds business at approximately $3.3 billion.
