GCS Holdings (GCS) announced it dropped the deal to sell itself to San’an Opto after U.S. regulatory authority blocked the transaction, reported TechNews.

Nanoco Group, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots (CFQD® quantum dots) and other nanomaterials, announced it has signed a worldwide material supply and licensing agreement with Merck, a leading science and technology company. The license allows Merck to immediately start marketing Nanoco’s CFQD quantum dots and to ultimately establish its own production facility to meet growing market demand for this innovative, heavy metal-free material.

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) rejected a request to revoke patent EP-1556443. The patent is part of the rich intellectual property (IP) portfolio that protects the company’s proprietary high refractive index (RI) phenyl-silicone-based optical encapsulant technology, which offers enhanced light output, improved reliability and other benefits for high-brightness LED lighting designs.  The EPO’s decision significantly strengthens Dow Corning’s IP position in Europe’s fast-growing LED lighting market where patent compliance is strategically important, as well as other key global LED manufacturing centers, such as the U.S., Japan, Korea and China.

Hubbell Lighting, a leader in lighting innovation, announced that it has appointed PG enlighten as its new representative throughout Northern Illinois, to include Chicago, Rockford, Central Illinois and Northwest Indiana in U.S., effective Sept. 1, 2016.

Samsung will be investing KRW 17 trillion (US $15 billion) in 3-D NAND flash memory chips and OLED panels, that are both key smartphone components to stay ahead of competition, reported The Korean Herald.

With the domestic market approaching saturation, branded Chinese LCD TV vendors see overseas expansion as the only means to grow their market shares and raise their brand recognition. The latest example of this approach is the acquisition of the U.S.-based consumer electronics maker VIZIO by LeEco, a rising Internet brand in the Chinese LCD TV market. Reports of VIZIO being up for sale gained traction after Foxconn’s acquisition of Sharp, and the US $2 billion deal with LeEco was finally announced on July 27.

Dow reported earnings per share of $2.61, or operating earnings per share of $0.95. This compares with Earnings per Share (EPS) of $0.97 in the year-ago period, or operating EPS of $0.91. Certain Items in the quarter primarily reflected a $2.20 per share gain related to the Dow Corning ownership restructure and a $0.27 per share charge for costs associated with the restructuring plan announced in the quarter. The tax rate was impacted by Certain Items. Excluding these, the tax rate was within the Company’s modeling guidance.

Authorities in the Haryana state located in Northern India have made LED bulbs mandatory for all central and state government offices, public sector agencies, institutions and establishments to use LED lamps, reported The Economic Times.

LG Display, the world’s leading innovator of display technologies, announced today that it will invest KRW1.99 trillion (US $1.78 million) in a new 6th generation (1,500mm x 1,850mm) flexible OLED display production line in Paju, South Korea, as part of its preemptive efforts to change and lead the approaching era of flexible OLED screens for mobile devices.

Future-forward LED firm Lighting Science today announced the recent appointment of veteran marketing executive Laura Calenda to the newly-created role of senior vice president of marketing. In this capacity, Calenda will partner with senior leadership to develop and implement national marketing strategy designed to expand its brand presence and educate consumers on its differentiated lighting solutions.

OSRAM agreed to security testing on existing LIGHTIFY products by Security researchers from RAPID7. Since being notified about the vulnerabilities identified by Rapid7, OSRAM has taken actions to analyze, validate and implement a risk-based remediation strategy, and the majority of vulnerabilities will be patched in the next version update, currently planned for release in August.

Hubbell Lighting, announced that it has opened a new regional distribution center in Dallas, Texas, in an effort to support an increase in market demand for its products. It will occupy a portion of CEVA Logistics’ 37,161 meters (400,000 square foot) facility in the Grapevine area of Dallas Fort-Worth.

Auckson Opto (the company), recently announced the reason behind its suspended trade on the Chinese bourse since July 20, 2016, according to a report from China Securities Journal.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2016, Osram continued to see healthy demand in its three strategic core businesses and additionally benefited from pull-forward effects related to the carve-out of the lamps business. On a comparable basis, i.e. adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, revenue in the three months ending June 30 rose eleven percent from a year earlier and reached EUR 1.44 billion (US $). 

Viribright Lighting announced that is has received a US Patent (US 9,379,300) for the design of an LED chip welded in a flip-chip manner on a floating copper heat radiation support. The Viribright LED packaging design generates more lumens per watt with better control of heat dissipation than previous LED manufacturing methods.

Chinese consortium consisting of the strategic investor IDG, the Chinese lighting company MLS and the financial investor Yiwu acquire Osram’s business unit Lamps for more than €400 million

The first half of 2016 has flown by quickly, with the LED industry entering a mature phase and stabilizing growth rates, it is gradually losing its liveliness. Looking back to the first half of 2016, new terms emerged among the tide of acquisitions and price wars. The keywords can be summarized as five large niche lighting markets, four key markets, three competitive technologies, changes in two major products market positions, and one new technology term.

India’s Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) issued a warning to consumers to be cautious about websites claiming to sell 9W LED bulbs for less than INR 1 (US $0.02), reported The Times of India.

Nanoco Group, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, and Wah Hong Industrial Corporation (TPEx: 8240, "Wah Hong"), a leading Taiwanese manufacturer and supplier of optical films, jointly announce that they have signed a supply and licence agreement in the display sector.

Philips Lighting announced the appointment of Stéphane Rougeot as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2016. Rougeot succeeds Rene van Schooten Business Group Leader Lamps, who in addition to his current role held the position on an interim basis for nine months.

Power management company Eaton announced a collaboration with NuLEDs™ a leader in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) lighting systems, aimed at making buildings smarter and seamlessly securely connected. The two companies will go to market with a joint product offering including Eaton’s complete portfolio of PoE-enabled LED luminaires and NuLEDs’ drivers, software, sensors and keypads.

Philips reports Q2 sales of EUR 5.9 billion (US $6.49 billion) and comparable sales growth of 3%, a 9% improvement in Adjusted EBITA to EUR 544 million and net income of EUR 431 million

China’s LED industry produced 296.3 billion LEDs during first half of 2016, up 19.21% Year-on-Year, reported China Light Industry Internet (CLII).

After three long years, Opple Lighting’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) application was finally approved by China’s Securities Regulatory Committee (CSRC), and is closer to its goal of being listed on the Chinese bourse.

Going net-zero carbon is the smart, inevitable choice for the companies of today and of the future – where “the business model fits as a solution glove to all the things that we need to address in the climate change challenge,” says Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs, Philips Lighting, in a Climate TV interview during the Business & Climate Summit convened in London last month by The Climate Group.

Soaring demands for AlInGaN LEDs for virtual reality (VR) and security applications caused severe chip shortages for Epistar, reported Taiwanese media Commercial Times.

German lighting giant Osram announced two important developments in its automotive lighting business this month, such as supplying OLED taillights to BMW and its latest acquisition of U.S. automotive LED module manufacturer Novita Technologies. How will the acquisition affect the LED industry, though?

Chinese LED manufacturer Silan Microelectronics (Silan) announced Thursday the company’s preliminary financial results for first half of 2016 plunged more than 60% year-on-year to RMB 64.42 million (US $9.66 million), reported Sinai.

HC Semitek, released a statement Wednesday night stating it acquired leading global Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor manufacturer MEMSIC.

Panasonic announced it will be raising its lighting revenue from JPY 320.3 billion (US $3.02 billion) from 2015 to JPY 400 billion by 2018, according to a report from Nikkei.