Osram Welcomes Takeover Bid by Bain and Carlyle

The managing and supervisory boards of Osram Licht AG, Munich, Germany, last week approved a deal in which a consortium led by private equity firms Bain Capital and Carlyle Group, both based in New York, will buy all public shares of the lighting giant. The offer represents an enterprise value of roughly €4 billion ($4.48 billion).

As part of the public takeover offer, shareholders are to be offered €35 ($39.24) per share in cash, a premium of 22.6% on the volume-weighted average price of Osram shares in the past three months.

Osram’s managing board intends to sell its own Osram shares to the bidders as part of the takeover, the company said.

“Bain and Carlyle are the right partners for Osram at the right time”, said Olaf Berlien, CEO of Osram, in a release. “They support our strategy and facilitate growth. Both are committed to our employees and offer shareholders an attractive premium.”

Osram said the agreement includes assurances that the company will continue to support the transformation that management has been pursuing to focus Osram on optical semiconductors, the automotive sector and digital applications. The company’s headquarters will remain in Munich and the rights to all patents will remain with Osram. Bain and Carlyle also agreed to support existing labor agreements, collective bargaining agreements and pension plans.