AMSTERDAM: Royal Philips NV announced yesterday that it is spinning off its iconic lighting division in an initial public offering so it can focus on its future as a health technology provider.
The listing on Amsterdam’s Euronext exchange is to involve the company selling at least 25 percent of its stock in Philips Lighting, which had sales of 7.5 billion euros (US$8.69 billion) last year, Philips said in a statement. After the initial public offering, Philips aims to sell the remaining shares in its lighting division over the coming years.
The price of the stock and timing of the offering were not announced. Philips chief executive officer Frans van Houten called the decision “historic” for the Dutch company that is still a world leader in lighting.
