Philips and Optogan Sign Up to Cooperate in LED Road Lighting Solutions in Russia

The new company will be 51% owned by Philips and 49% by Optogan. Financial details of the joint venture were not disclosed.

The joint venture will combine Philips’ latest LED road lighting solutions and international quality standards with Optogan’s LED knowledge, innovative solutions and understanding of local market requirements in this field. Products developed and manufactured by the joint venture will be sold in the Russian Federation and within its customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The Philips-Optogan partnership will focus on developing a local LED industry, supporting the energy efficiency (EE) initiatives by the Russian government. Switching to LED street and road lighting can reduce energy consumption by up to 80% and lead to significant savings in service and maintenance costs. The enhanced visibility created by the bright light can also contribute to an enhanced feeling of security and can help improve road safety.

“Today’s announcement of our joint venture with Optogan represents the beginning of a new, ambitious journey to become a key player on the Russian outdoor lighting market,” - Arjan de Jongste, CEO Philips Russia and CIS. “We believe it will unlock new potential for us to bring innovative lighting solutions to Russia that save energy, reduce maintenance costs and increase road safety, thereby making a difference in people’s lives.”

“Optogan is one of the technology leaders in the manufacturing of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). With proven innovative, energy efficient and cost-efficient solutions in the fields of high brightness chips, LED components, LED lamps and LED luminaires. Optogan has a very deep understanding of the local Russian market,” said Maxim Odnoblyudov, CEO Optogan Group. “By joining forces with Philips we will be able to serve the Russian customers even better.”

Road lighting in Russia is an attractive market segment as it is anticipated to become one of the leading growth segments for LED. The Russian road lighting market is expected to double over the next four years to EUR 100 million by 2015.This growth is mainly driven by government energy efficiency programs for modernization of road lighting. It is expected that due to this also the share of LED will reach 50% as early as 2015.

About Royal Philips Electronics:
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity.” Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.6 billion in 2011, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Optogan:
Optogan is one of the few vertically integrated LED & luminaries manufacturers in the world. The company is one of the technology leaders in developing high brightness light-emitting diodes (HB LEDs) for a large variety of applications including Solid State Lighting. Optogan specializes in production of next-generation, energy-efficient products such as LED chips, LEDbased devices and intelligent lighting systems. Optogan’s production sites are located in Landshut (Germany) and St. Petersburg (Russia).
Optogan’s shareholders: ONEKSIM Group, OJSC RUSNANO, OJSC RIC and Optogan founders. www.optogan.com