Philips Lighting’s Dutch parent company announced plans for a multi-billion-Euro initial public offering for its lighting business in the first six months of 2016, starting with a sale of a minority stake in the company. Koninklijke Philips NV in a letter to shareholders said the lighting business will be moved into a separate holding company structure to prepare it for listing. The move will position the parent company, long a diverse electronics conglomerate, to focus on healthcare markets.
The shareholder circular included some explanation of Philips management's thinking behind the spin-off of lighting.
"By establishing a stand-alone Lighting Solutions company, the Lighting business and management team will be better positioned to capture growth opportunities, be closer to customers, adapt more quickly to evolving customer needs, and enable decisive investments in the future of lighting," the document said.
By the end of the process Philips expects to be fully divested from lighting. The board continues to evaluate other options as well, the letter said.
