CVC sells PLI to Philips

CVC Capital Partners has agreed to sell Partners in Lighting (PLI), a Belgium-based manufacturer of lighting products, to Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands. The deal values PLI at an enterprise value of about €590m, to be paid in cash upon completion of the transaction.

In June 2002, CVC funds acquired PLI (formerly Massive) from the De Jaeck family in a buyout believed to be worth €300m.

PLI’s revenues for 2006 are expected to be about €400m with a comparable growth rate of 6%. Philips Lighting expects the transaction to be accretive to its operating margin from 2008 onwards.

For Philips, PLI represents the latest move in a row of transactions designed to shift the group’s focus to healthcare, lifestyle and technology. In September 2006, it sold 80.1% of its NXP semiconductor business to a consortium of private equity partners.

In August 2005, Philips agreed to acquire Agilent’s shareholding (about 47%) in Lumileds Lighting, a US-based manufacturer of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), for a total consideration of about US$950m (€765m) in cash.

In January 2006, Philips agreed to acquire Lifeline, a listed US-based provider of personal emergency response services targeted at elderly people living independently at home. The tender offer translated to a total equity value of US$750m, but the total consideration is understood to be just US$690m taking account of US$60m in cash and cash equivalents.