Stefan Mileschin

Another giant manufacturer is following Dutch company Philips by spinning off its lights and LED lamps divisions.

Osram Licht AG, formerly a division of Siemens until it was spun off a few years ago, will retain its semiconductor, speciality lighting units, and luminaires unit.

The divisions it’s selling off represent 40 percent of revenues but according to market research company Trendforce, the LED division is being hit by prices falling by 30 percent yearly while margins on the lights don’t deliver what the board expects of successful divisions.

The Philips LED division is being acquired by a consortium of Chinese investors, and Trendforce predicts other investors will step in. There is a possibility, however, that large global technology companies not in the lighting business may want to have a share of the smart home internet of things bonanza that’s widely predicted over the next five years.

This Trendforce graph shows how the prices of a 60W equivalent bulb have fallen over the years.

http://www.techeye.net/business/osra...s-led-business