Philips to sell majority stake in its lighting components unit

Dutch electronics giant Philips agreed to sell a majority stake in its lighting components unit to a group of investors, accelerating the Dutch firm's shift toward medical technology.

The company will receive $2.8 billion for the 80.1 per cent stake it agreed to sell to Go Scale Capital, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement today. Go Scale is a fund sponsored by GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners.

Philips will retain the remaining shares.

Philips, which has sold lighting products since its founding in 1891, is shedding both the LED components and automotive-lighting businesses.

A shift toward smaller and more energy-efficient light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, has intensified competition with new entrants from the semiconductor industry, prompting rival Siemens AG to also exit the lighting market two years ago