(Author: Skavy Cheng, Editor, LEDinside China, Translator/Editor: Judy Lin, Chief Editor, LEDinside)

Royal Philips announced on Tuesday its lighting business’s “historical” Initial Public Offering (IPO), which will result in the listing of the lighting business on the Dutch bourse , and aims to sell at least 25% of its shares in the lighting company. The announcement ended contending Chinese and foreign investors takeover bid of the lighting business.

Below is a list of investors that were disappointed by the Philips Lighting IPO:

Go Scale Capital

Chinese investor Go Scale Capital’s second attempt to bid for a Philips lighting related business has flopped. Its previous agreement with Philips to acquire Lumileds for US $3.1 billion was blocked by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in January 2016.

Following the development, Go Scale Capital prepared to acquire one of Philips lighting business, said an industry source that declined to be named. The acquisition would generate a revenue of about EUR 5 billion (US $5.4 billion) for Philips, said a source familiar with the matter.

Industry insiders analyzed Philips might be unwilling to risk another failed acquisition with the Chinese bidder to avert government interference during business transactions, according to a Bloomberg report back in February this year. Philips spokesperson Steve Klink and Go Scale Capital representatives declined to comment on the issue at the time.

Go Scale Capital’s failed acquisition of Lumileds has been the root of the complicated love-hate relationship it has with Philips. After one year of negotiations the acquisition was called off last minute by CFIUS over national security concerns, which prematurely concluded the budding partnership.

Hence, when Philips Lighting encountered Go Scale Capital again, it decided to halt developments before taking things any further. It was probable that Philips Lighting was destined to launch its IPO from here on.

Onex

Prestigious investment company Blackstone and Onex teamed up to acquire Philips Lighting in early March, according to a Wall Street report published on March 3, 2016. According to people familiar with the situation, the acquisition could be worth EUR 4.5 billion to EUR 5 billion. The coalition formed between the two investment firms was aimed at acquiring larger shares in Philips Lighting, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Compared to Go Scale Capital, Blackstone Group and Onex are very good options, and in close proximity to Philips headquarters. Blackstone Group is one of the world’s largest independent financial management organizations, and is also a financial consulting firm.

With headquarters based in New York, the company has operating companies in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. As of Sept. 30, 2007, total assets managed by the financial firm reached US $98.2 billion, and it has 65 senior ranking managers and in total 520 investors and consultants.

Onex on the other hand is based in Toronto, Canada and is a diverse company. It is one of the largest companies in Canada with an annual revenue of CA $20 billion (US $15.66 billion), and its global business encompasses medicine, services, manufacturing, and technology industries.

Through its Onex Partners and ONCAP private equity funds it manages third party private funds and equity investments. The company also manages real estate funds and a public market fund.

Melrose

Competing bidders against Blackstone and Onex include American investment company Apollo and UK investment company Melrose Industries, according to the Wall Street report.

By early April, Melrose withdrew from the bid to buy Philips Lighting, according to a Bloomberg report published on April 4, 2016. According to people familiar with the matter, Melrose was concerned about the lighting business outlook and the absence of data.

Melrose quit the bid race long before Philips announced its IPO, despite the reasons it cited behind the drop out, it probably had found Philips was preparing to launch an IPO.

Apollo Global Management

Apollo Global Management was founded in 1990, and has been a leader in hedge funds, bonds and capital market. The company headquarter is in New York, and has subsidiaries in London and Los Angeles. The company manages six funds, including Apollo Investment; Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance; Apollo Residential Mortgage; AP Alternative Assets, and others.

Apollo Investment and AP Alternative Assets are respectively listed on the U.S. NASDAQ and Euronext, and were able to acquire funding above US $10 billion on the public market.

Even though Apollo’s current managed assets and professional investment team is not as good as Blackstone’s, its investment team is comprised of elites from Wall Street that have all delivered top notch performance. In the past Apollo was a “loner” that disliked collaborating with other similar investment firms in leverages and acquisitions, the business model simplified acquisition and allowed Apollo to perform in restructure process.

As companies investment values escalated on the market, limited by its finances, Apollo has been forced to partner up with other investment firms to “hunt” for potential acquisitions. This is also one of the reasons why it is participating in Philips Lighting acquisition. It can be observed from previous investments that Apollo is very cautious in choosing its investments, and its decision to acquire Philips Lighting shows the company’s future growth prospects is promising.