Philips eyes ‘historic’ IPO for lighting arm ‘out of necessity’
Print Edition
DUTCH electronics giant Philips yesterday said it was floating its lighting arm on the stock market in a “historic” initial public offering, after failing for over 18 months to find a buyer.
Philips said it aimed to spin off at least a quarter of Philips Lighting division’s shares, in a move described by analysts as “born out of necessity.”
“The offering would consist of a sale of existing shares only held by Royal Philips, the current sole shareholder of Philips Lighting. The offering and listing, and their timing, are subject to, among other factors, market conditions,” Philips said in a statement.
Philips in September 2014 said it was selling off its core lighting business to focus more on medical equipment.
But since then, Philips said it has been “examining its options,” hesitating between a straight sale and an IPO on the Amsterdam stock exchange.
Analysts, who have valued the division at around 5 billion euros (US$5.8 billion), said the option to list was no surprise.
“We saw it coming because there was a lack of interest from private equity buyers,” said Durk Veenstra, a specialist on RTL Z financial news TV channel.
“This is a choice not born out of luxury, but born out of necessity,” said Veenstra.
“When a price doesn’t reach expectations, a float on the stock exchange is a logical alternative,” said Joost van Beek, an analyst at Theodoor Gilissen private bank.
Philips said it would retain the majority stake in the lighting arm “with the aim to fully sell down over the next several years.”
“Today’s announcement is a historic one for Philips as we aim to separate our company into two market-leading companies focused on capturing opportunities in the health technology and connected LED lighting solutions markets,” CEO Frans van Houten said in the statement.
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