Philips $2.8 billion lighting unit sale dropped over US fears

“We will now engage with other parties that have expressed an interest in exploring strategic options for Lumileds”, Philips Chief Executive Frans van Houten said in a statement. The technology used by Lumileds is considered relatively mature and Philips was surprised by the USA committee’s initial opposition in October. “I am very disappointed about this outcome as this was a very good deal for both Lumileds and the Go Scale Capital-led consortium”, van Houten said. It approved a record-breaking $4.7 billion takeover of US pork giant Smithfield Foods by Shuanghui International, now WH Group, in 2013.