Thursday, September 25, 2014: Philips has made an announcement on Tuesday that the 120-year old Dutch company is separating into two parts, as the healthcare-lifestyle section is splitting from the lighting business. This is a huge streamlining move at the company’s end.
As per PTI, Philips CEO Frans Van Houten told at a telephonic press conference, that Philips is getting ready “for the next century”. He said, as now the lighting solutions business is independent, they will be in a better position to expand their global leadership and explore more exciting market opportunities. Houten is pretty confident about the decision and its timing. Immediately after the announcement, Philips shares went up by 3.26 per cent to $31.23. Both the divisions will use Philips name as per a company statement.
How the separate legal structure will be formed for the lighting business will be announced in detail in 2015. The companies will be headquartered in the Netherlands and no word is still there about prospective lay-offs. The restructuring of the company will increase the savings of the company, on a whole, in next two years. Last year, in July, German engineering and technology company Siemens separated activities of its lighting division, Osram. Presently, the major players in the lighting solutions market, Philips, Osram and General Electrics, are facing competition from Samsung and LG, as the market is more focused on low-energy bulbs and LEDs these days.
