LED market underperformed in 2Q15, due to waning backlight market during the quarter and cutthroat pricing competition in the lighting market, a CNA report cited Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee saying.

The LED industry market competition has intensified leading to price plunges, and even some LED lighting manufacturers releasing low priced products that have been given the “cabbage price” nickname, reported Chinese LED website Grand Lighting (Dazhaoming). Prices of international LED manufacturers mid to high range LED products remain high, creating a huge price difference.

Austrian lighting company Zumtobel restructures have helped the company turn around the EUR 4.8 million (US $ 5.32 million) losses it incurred in the last fiscal year, reported Austrian media Die Presse.

Samsung Electronics has recently signed a LED lighting component and module partnership service testing agreement with China Certification & Inspection Group’s (CCIC) Korean branch, reported Qianjia.com.

Semicon Light, a Korean company funded by Chinese LED manufacturer HC Semitek has been listed on the Korean bourse KOSDAQ on June 25, 2015.

Eaton Cooper announced recently it has dropped the Cooper name for its lighting business, details of the transition can be seen in the statement below from Mark Eubank, Preident of Eaton’s Lighting Division.

Market competition in the North American bulb market has pressured Cree to restructure its LED business, said Roger Chu, Director, Research Division, LEDinside.

Cree, a market leader in LED lighting, today announced that the board of directors has approved the following: A restructuring of the LED Products business A $500 million stock buyback authorization for fiscal year 2016 The fiscal year 2016 annual operating plan that targets: Revenue to increase to $1.8 billion +/- Non-GAAP operating margin increasing to approximately 8% Free cash flow of approximately $75 million

Valeo announced that it has purchased a 10.5% stake in Aledia, by subscribing to a portion of Aledia’s capital increase. Aledia is a technology start-up dedicated to the development of cutting-edge LED technology for general and automotive lighting.

Panasonic intends to halt fluorescent lights in Indonesia by the end of June 2015, and will be laying off about 700 employees at the plant, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

AIXTRON, a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that Epileds, a leading supplier of LED chip products, has qualified the Company’s AIX R6 tool for LED epitaxy mass production.

Lighting Science Group, a leading manufacturer of LED lighting solutions, announced today the appointments of three experienced sales leaders who will add broad business and industry expertise to its global sales team. Daniel Yasi joins the company as Senior Director of Commercial and Infrastructure Channels. Oscar Ibarra also joins LSG as Director of International Infrastructure Sales. Additionally, David Rubin joins the team as a Director of Commercial Markets. Dan, Oscar and David will play key roles in supporting and growing the Lighting Science product portfolio, with specific concentrations on expanding the commercial and infrastructure channels both domestically and internationally.

Merck, a leading company for innovative, top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, laid the cornerstone for a new OLED materials production plant in Darmstadt today. Production of high-purity OLED materials for use in state-of-the-art displays and lighting systems is scheduled to start in the approximately 2,000 square meter building in July 2016. With the investment, which amounts to around EUR 30 million (US$ 33.78 million), Merck is strengthening its position in the OLED business. Merck aims to be a leading supplier of OLED materials by 2018. The company wishes to make use of its experience in the liquid crystals business, where it is the global leader.

Transphorm, an early stage semiconductor company focused on redefining power conversion, today announced a US $70 million investment round led by global investment firm KKR. KKR’s investment follows initial rounds of funding led by funds affiliated with Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, Soros Quantum Strategic Partners, INCJ, Fujitsu, Transphorm will use this funding to support its growth, product innovation and expansion.

Aledia, a developer and manufacturer of next-generation 3D LEDs based on its Gallium-Nitride-on-Silicon platform, announced today the closing of its Series B financing round and the execution of development and supply contracts with major LED buyers. 

Osram is making further progress regarding its realignment. In an extraordinary meeting, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG approved the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business. As an independent entity, the business will be able to operate more freely on the market and realize strategic options, such as partnerships, more easily. Jes Munk Hansen, until now CEO of the Americas region, will lead the lamps business in the future. "Today's supervisory board decision lays the foundation for our strategic orientation toward growth, innovation and technology leadership," said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG.

Pixelligent Technologies, producer of PixClear®, the leading producer of nanocrystal dispersions for demanding applications in LED lighting, OLED Lighting, and Optical Coatings and Films markets, announced today that it closed US $3.4 million in new funding. The funds will be used to support accelerating customer growth throughout the world and to increase its manufacturing capacity to 40+ tons per year starting in 2016.

Shanghai Yaming Lighting Co, a trusted brand and pioneer in lighting technology development based in China, today marked the official opening of its regional headquarters at Dubai Silicon Oasis, the integrated free zone technology park.

Elec-tech International (ETI) recently announced it would be issuing 378 million shares through a private placement to raise RMB 4.5 billion (US $720 million) for flip chip LED and package related investments, according to a report from National Business Daily (NBD).

Lumileds CEO Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre and other high ranking company officers spoke to LEDinside recently about the company’s mid power LED strategy following the Go Scale Capital investment in the company at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) 2015, which took place in Guangzhou, China from June 9-12, 2015.

Illumitex, announced the addition of Paul Hardej and Mathieu van de Sande to its team of horticulture lighting experts.

Global Tech LED, fast-growing south Florida-headquartered creator and manufacturer of energy-, money- and labor-saving LED new construction and retrofit outdoor, indoor commercial lighting systems, announces substantial further market and product-production expansion beginning this year.

HC Semitek announced it had been carrying out operations since halting trade on  China’s bourse, and has been discussing with investors and traders about its future direction. Investors and traders have requested for more detailed explanations about the terms and conditions, but the company has not confirmed the content of the discussions.

San’an Opto announced Tuesday it has suspended trading on China’s bourse, due to the uncertain outcome of partnership talks with China National Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Unity Opto has seen its revenue in May 2015 slide 30%, due to Dutch lighting conglomerate Philips aggressive pricing strategies.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) has sealed a NT $2.55 billion (US $80 million) loan deal with a syndicate of local banks in Taiwan to repay loans and expand the company’s operation capital.

Legacy Electronics, a U.S. designer and manufacturer of high-density memory modules, circuit boards and solid-state drives (SSDs) has expanded their management team by selecting Mike Ridling to fill the new position director of business development. In addition, Legacy is broadening their portfolio of components and memory modules through a contract to be the authorized North American distributor of Zentel Electronics DRAM and LED products.

Leviton today announced the acquisition of Intense Lighting, LLC, a leading solutions-based manufacturer of LED luminaires. Intense Lighting, based in Anaheim, Calif., enhances Leviton’s current product offerings with a wide variety of specification grade LED lighting solutions for the commercial, hospitality, supermarket, retail and residential markets.

Orion Energy Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting platforms, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2015, highlighted by higher revenues driven by accelerating LED sales and gross margin expansion.

After winning the elections last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to invest in the country’s electricity, rail and other infrastructures to improve India’s economic performance, reported Chinese media Cali-Light.com.