Will Cree Acquire Philips' Soon-To-Be Spun-Off LED Business?

Last week, the world’s largest lighting producer Philips announced its plan to spin-off its Lumileds LED lighting unit and automotive lighting segment into a separate company by early 2015. Philips believes that after significantly improving the performance of Lumileds over the last few years, and establishing strong intellectual property, the business can further grow, attract more customers and increase scale as a standalone company by increasing sales to customers who currently view Philips as a rival. Philips plans to spin-off the manufacturing side of the LED business, and will keep the higher margin integrated systems and services as part of its business.