Sweden-based Fagerhult announced on December 21 that it has signed an agreement to acquire iGuzzini, the Italian lighting group for EUR 385 million (US$ 439 million). According to Fagerhult, the price of EUR 385 million will be paid with 74 percent in cash and 26 percent in new Fagerhult shares. The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019. With iGuzzini joining the Fagerhult Group will, the largest lighting company in the Nordic countries will increase its presence in Italy, Switzerland, Spain and North America. The combined compan...

German company TRUMPF is going to acquire Philips Photonics, the VCSEL production units of Royal Philips, to expand its product portfolio for 3D sensing and data transmission applications. Back in November Philips Photonics announced a milestone of shipping one billion VCSELs and soon after that the company was said to have increased the capacity of VCSEL production in Ulm, Germany. And now it is selling 100 percent of the operation to TRUMPF. The two companies are planning to finish the operation transaction by the second quarter of 2019 and neith...

Infineon Technologies has announced the acquisition of Siltectra, a Dresden-based start-up which developed an innovative technology, named Cold Split, for processing crystal material. The company was acquired for EUR 124 million (US$141.38 million). With the acquisition, Infineon aims to adopt Cold Split technology to split silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, doubling the number of chips out of one wafer. “This acquisition will help us expand our excellent portfolio with the new material silicon carbide as well. Our system understanding and our unique know how on thin ...

Optoelectronic component producer II-VI Inc. announced on November 9th that it is going to acquire Finisar, the supplier of optical communication products for Apple with a deal worth US$3.2 billion cash and stock.

General Electric (GE) has begun organization restructure and unveiled the intention to sell its lighting business since a year ago. In July 2018, the company has scheduled the selling plan to be in the end of the year. Finally, GE announced on November 6th that it has signed a proposed agreement to sell its Current, powered by GE business to American Industrial Partner (AIP)

AB Fagerhult, the largest lighting company in the Nordic countries has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the shareholders of iGuzzini, an Italian lighting group, to acquire 100 percent of the shares of iGuzzini.

Canadian automotive components supplier, Magna, announced that the company has signed a deal to buy Olsa S.p.A, an Italian automotive lighting producer for approximately 230 million euros. The acquisition will extend Magna’s capability of producing lighting product from designing to manufacturing. 

Osram’s venture capital arm, Fluxunit, has acquired a stake in Canadian startup Motorleaf, an artificial intelligence company focused on bringing actionable, datadriven insights to greenhouse and indoor farm operators.

Philips Lighting announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Shenzhen LiteMagic Technologies Co., Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer and seller of lighting luminaires and control systems for urban and façade lighting.

Leyard and Planar, specialized in visualization products, announced May 10 that they have completed the acquisition of eyevis, which includes the company Teracue. In line with the announcement earlier in April, Leyard and Planar have completed the acquisition process.

As GE lighting is still a strong brand in North America, it is expected a number of Chinese LED and lighting firms will scramble for the sale. In this regard, LEDinside looked into the Chinese lighting industry and found out a few firms that might be interested in buying GE’s assets.

General LED Holdings, LLC (“General LED”) announced it completed the acquisition of the Acolyte Group (“Acolyte”), a New York based provider of fully-integrated LED lighting systems. Acolyte offers ribbon lighting and other architectural lighting products for a variety of indoor and outdoor applications.

Osram has added to its expertise in semiconductor-based optical security technology by acquiring US-based Vixar Inc. Already a technology leader in infrared LEDs and infrared laser diodes, Osram will have a unique breadth of technological expertise and an expanded product portfolio after bringing on board Vixar’s specialist capabilities in the field of VCSEL.

Leyard and Planar, a solution provider of LED digital displays, announced the intent to acquire eyevis, a manufacturer of visual display solutions.

LEDVANCE, one of the world's leading general lighting providers for professional users and end consumers, is now 100 percent owned by the leading Chinese LED lighting company MLS. MLS has taken over the full ownership of LEDVANCE by means of a share deal with the strategic investor IDG Capital and the financial investor Yiwu. As part of the deal, IDG Capital and Yiwu will become shareholders of MLS via a joint investment.

Osram is strengthening its electronic component business with the acquisition of BAG electronics, a Trilux subsidiary. BAG specializes in LED modules and software for innovative LED lighting solutions. The company, based in Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, was previously part of the Trilux Group. Following the takeover, its 380 employees have moved to Osram. At the same time, a strategic five-year supply contract including a minimum sales volume has been agreed, with Osram supplying Trilux with components for use in its lights. BAG generated revenues of around €50 million in 2017.

Photonics product provider Lumentum and Oclaro, specializing in optical components and modules, announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, pursuant to which Lumentum will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Oclaro.

Cree, Inc. has acquired assets of Infineon Technologies AG Radio Frequency (RF) Power Business for approximately € 345 million. The transaction expands the Cree Wolfspeed business unit’s wireless market opportunity.

Chinese lighting companies MLS Co. and Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co. are seeking financial supports for bidding GE’s asset, Reuters reported. The deal is potentially to amount at USD 1 billion, according to sources in the industry.

Horticultural LED lighting developer VividGro acquired WeGrow, a cannabis home grow app with over 20,000 downloads in the iTunes Store. WeGrow, which launched its chatbot-based technology in April 2017, has dramatically simplified the learning process of growing cannabis using personalized conversations.

Masco Corporation, a manufacturers of branded home improvement and building products, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire The L.D. Kichler Co. (“Kichler Lighting”), a developer of decorative residential and light commercial lighting products, ceiling fans and LED lighting systems across both consumer and professional distribution channels.

Ring, a specialist in home security, announced it acquired Mr. Beams, an innovative LED lighting technology company, in order to integrate smart, energy-efficient lights into more of its security devices and release new, standalone outdoor security lights, called Ring Beams.

Rumors have been spreading like crazy since May that Samsung would acquire Taiwanese Micro LED startup PlayNitride. Sources from the industry recently leaked that the two companies are at the final stage of their talk.

ams, a supplier of high performance sensor solutions, has divested its LED backlight technology and product portfolio to Dialog Semiconductor through an asset transaction.

Osram acquires a stake in the Swiss company beaconsmind AG. Via its venture capital unit, Fluxunit, the lighting company has gained a strategic minority interest in the start-up that offers smart software to retailers, enabling a personalized approach to customers. Fluxunit supports and develops both internal and external start-ups.

Coretronic Corporation (Coretronic), Taiwan has completed the acquisition of Calibre, a privately held British image processing technology manufacturer based in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK.

Osram has acquired a strategic 25.1 percent share in LeddarTech Inc., a Canadian company that develops a proprietary LiDAR technology integrated into semiconductors and sensor modules for self-driving cars and driver-assistance systems. LeddarTech specializes in solid-state LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) systems that use infrared light to monitor the area around them, and its advanced optical sensing technology is highly complementary with Osram’s semiconductor products. The two companies already work together and Osram has now made an investment in LeddarTech in the mid double-digit million euros.

AVX Corporation today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Transportation, Sensing & Control division (hereinafter called TS&C), from the UK company, TT Electronics PLC.