Philips will sell at least 25% of lighting unit in IPO

AMSTERDAM-Philips plans to sell at least 25% of its lighting products division, which is the largest manufacturer of light bulbs in the world, in the stock market and focus on medical equipment unit, said the company on Tuesday.
The Chief Executive of Dutch group, Frans van Houten, said the decision is "historic" for a company that started its activities as a company in 1891. Analysts valued the unit at about 5 billion euros.
The company announced the decision to sell the lighting Division in 2014, but the process took two years, with the company by dividing its extensive patent portfolio and analyzing options between a listing on a stock exchange or sale to a private company.
Philips said it will sell a portion of at least 25% of the lighting unit in an initial public offering of shares (IPO, the acronym in English) to be held on Euronext Amsterdam. The exact time of the operation will depend on market conditions and the rest will be sold in a period of a few years, the company said.