Lighting up the skyscraper ---CLRK

This company got a decent move recently due to is fudmental change. It offers LED for decorating Skyscraper, seattle, nyx and sanfranscio have used its product. And It could easily expand their product line to other metropolitan and Asia.

Strongly recommend.

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Philips Offers $688M for Color Kinetics
Tuesday June 19, 9:10 am ET
By Toby Sterling, AP Business Writer
Philips Offers About $688M for the U.S. Lighting Company Color Kinetics


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Royal Philips Electronics NV said Tuesday it is offering about $688 million for Color Kinetics Inc. and the Boston-based lighting company's management supports the deal.
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Amsterdam-based Philips is the world's largest lighting company, while Color Kinetics makes Light Emitting Diode lighting systems for professionals.

LEDs are relatively expensive, but have the ability to produce light in any color, and are both energy-efficient and long-lasting. They are expected to win market share as their cost falls in comparison with incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lights.

Philips is offering $34 per share for Color Kinetics, a 14 percent premium over its closing price Monday of $29.79. Color Kinetics shares had risen by about 50 percent since April 1.

"There was quite a run-up during the process" of negotiating the deal, Philips Lighting CEO Theo van Deursen said in a telephone interview. He said the discussions were confidential as far as the companies knew.

Van Deursen said the offer for Color Kinetics in part reflects important patents it holds on how LED lighting is controlled, specifically the software and hardware that makes it possible to adjust color and brightness. These will become more important in the future as other companies -- including Philips -- have licensed the technology.

Color Kinetics had sales of $65 million in 2006.

"We believe that joining Philips ... is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, partners, and employees," Color Kinetics CEO Bill Sims said in a statement.

Van Deursen said he expected the deal to win shareholder and regulatory approval and close before the end of the year.

Philips shares dipped 0.3 percent to 31.34 euros ($41.76) in Amsterdam trading.

Philips uses Color Kinetic's controls in its own "Living Colors" color-adjustable LED lamps for the home market. They were introduced in the Netherlands earlier this year and will be sold in five more European countries in September.

Van Deursen said the company does not yet have a date for when the product, which has drawn both praise and some skepticism from technology and design enthusiasts, will be introduced in the United States. He said sales are outperforming expectations so far in the Netherlands but declined to give figures.

Tuesday's acquisition is Philips' third targeting the LED market, as the company continues to bet heavily on the future of the technology.

In 2005, it bought Agilent Technologies Inc. out of their Lumileds LED components joint venture for $950 million.

In March, Philips completed a 53 million euro ($71 million) purchase of Canada's TIR Systems Ltd., which specializes in white light-producing LED modules.

Van Deursen said Philips expects the market for LEDs to grow at more than 20 percent per year and reach $20-30 billion in 2025. The company now has first-place positions in the entire LED supply chain from components and modules to complete systems.

Among major lighting rivals, Siemens AG is the second-largest LED components maker after Philips' Lumileds, but does not have a strong presence in other areas, Van Deursen said.

General Electric Co. does not appear to be pursuing the LED market outside of niche areas such as movie screens, as part of a larger reduced emphasis on its lighting operations, Van Deursen said.

"I don't know what our competitors are missing but we are convinced we're not missing anything," he said.