Osram Supervisory Board Approves Lamps Business Carve-Out

Osram has taken another step in its realignment of the lighting business. In an extraordinary meeting, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG formally approved the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business.

Jes Munk Hansen, currently CEO of the Americas region, will lead the separated lamps business in the future. “Today’s supervisory board decision lays the foundation for our strategic orientation toward growth, innovation and technology leadership,” said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG. The company further stated that ‘as an independent entity, the business will be able to operate more freely on the market and realize strategic options such as partnerships, more easily’.

As we reported April, the supervisory board issued a mandate to examine the carve-out of the lamps business which includes both LED as well as traditional lamps. The weeks since then have seen an intensive dialog between employee representatives and management. The carve-out is a response to the different dynamics and requirements in the lighting market. The lamps market is a volume market in which consistently high quality and cost efficiency are crucial competitive factors. It differs fundamentally from the technology markets such as LED lighting solutions, which are characterized by innovation, tailor-made solutions and sustainable growth. Osram believe that a fully integrated player that covers the entire value chain will not achieve synergistic benefits and will actually lose advantage. Those of us who have worked for large lighting companies will fully recognise this. It takes a different kind of sales force, product management, manufacturing and infrastructure to cope with customised solutions and lighting design as opposed to mass market distribution. The structure of the company and its rationale was discussed in more detail here.

Osram intends to focus on these technology markets in the future through its businesses with opto semiconductors, automotive and specialty lighting as well as luminaires, lighting systems and solutions.

By Julie Allen

12 Jun