It's looking like consumer electronics giant Royal Philips Electronics
Energy-saving lighting is coming into its own. Philips is the largest manufacturer of light bulbs in the world and has come out in favor of banning incandescent bulbs. While I've already written about that being something of a dim-bulb idea -- since Philips doesn't want to lose profits if it stops producing incandescent bulbs unilaterally -- Wal-Mart
Lighting is undoubtedly powering Philips' future, as its other parts are sitting still. Philips has been muting its electronics business and attempting to benefit from the demand for energy-saving bulbs.
Another lighting giant, Siemens (NYSE: SI), previously teamed up with Osram to form an LED joint venture, while General Electric
The Philips buyout of Genlyte represents a 52% premium to the closing price of the fixture maker this past Friday, and shares immediately soared more than $30 a stub in morning trading today. While the Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation sells fixtures to commercial and residential markets, the commercial side accounts for three-quarters of the company's revenues. Analysts have been noting that U.S. nonresidential construction actually remains robust so that companies like Genlyte and Acuity Brands
Philips is paying about 1.8 times trailing revenues, but with Genlyte sporting superior operating margins to the bulb maker, the deal should immediately be accretive to Philips' bottom line. It will also make for the largest North American lighting company, according to Philips.
With yet another buyout in this market, the lighting industry looks like it may still be a bright spot for investors.
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