Royal Philips Electronics Acquires Leading LED Designer Color Kinetics

Royal Philips Electronics has announced its agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of leading LED design and marketing company Boston-based Color Kinetics for $34 per share, or a total consideration of approximately EUR 592 million. The transaction will likely close in the second half of 2007. The merger builds on Philips’ 2005 acquisition of Lumileds, which holds a leading position in high-power LED dyes, and on the recent acquisition of TIR Systems, a developer of solid state lighting (SSL) modules for integrated lighting products. According to Philips’ lighting division chief executive, Theo van Deursen, the acquisition of Color Kinetics gives Philips a technological platform that “will serve as a springboard for Philips to further create sustainable value through making innovative LED lighting solutions widely available.” The acquisition will enable Color Kinetics’ complete, integrated systems for LED-based illumination to be distributed and sold globally. The merged entity will operate under the name Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions; LED product lines will ultimately be co-branded Philips/Color Kinetics.