It is reported by Reuters on 30th of Jan that a spokesman of lighting manufacturer Osram announced the company has been approved by the German government to sell its Lamps unit to an association of Chinese bidders for 400 million euros (USD 425 million).

Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) announced Thursday about a new investment partnership with Japanese UV LED manufacturer Nikkiso to expand applications in medical devices, reported Taiwanese media UDN.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and one Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants for projects targeting critical advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. The five Phase I Release 1 grants will explore the technical merit and commercial potential of different innovative concepts or technologies that are expected to contribute to the achievement of the price and performance goals described in DOE’s SSL R&D Plan. 

LED A-line lamps continue to grow, accounting for 32.4% of the market in third quarter 2016, and posting a 124.2% increase in shipments compared to 3Q 2015. They posted a 65.1% quarter-over-quarter increase in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the previous quarter. Halogen, Incandescent, and CFLs all posted a quarter-to-quarter decrease, 7.5%, 17.2%, and 12.8% respectively. Incandescent lamp shipments showed a 5.6 % increase in 3Q 2016 compared to 3Q 2015 while halogen and CFLs posted an 11 percent and 53.9% decrease for the same time period.

Tridonic, a leading global provider of smart and efficient lighting solutions, is opening a new office in Highland, New York to serve the North American market with smart solutions also for IoT applications. 

Sales of EUR 7.12 billion (US $7.66 billion), with comparable sales of -2.4% (2015: -3.5%) Continued year-on-year improvement in operational profitability Adjusted EBITA of EUR 645 million (2015: EUR 547 million Adjusted EBITA margin improvement of 180 basis points to 9.1% (2015: 7.3%)  Net income of EUR 185 million (2015: EUR 240 million), including EUR 143 million charges not applicable in 2015 for brand license, separation costs and financial expenses  Free cash flow of EUR 418 million (2015: EUR 632 million) or 5.9% of sales

Philips Lighting announced that its Supervisory Board will propose the appointment of two new members, Jill Lee and Gerard van de Aast. 

Revolution Lighting Technologies, a global provider of advanced LED lighting solutions, today announced that the small business portion of its New England based companies have completed approximately $25 million of business in 2016.  Through its divisions, Revolution Lighting worked closely with its small business customers to provide “turnkey” energy efficiency retrofit solutions, including the installation of LED technologies.

Foreverlamp, a privately held company founded by Peter Shen, former president of Philips Lighting and Electronics Group, announced a new President and a slate of Executive officers. The changes are designed to allow the company’s leadership team to maximize time and attention to focus on seizing additional new growth opportunities and initiatives for LED lighting.  

Osram is close to receiving approval from the German government to go ahead with the sales of its general lighting business LEDVANCE to a Chinese investment consortium headed by IDG Capital Partners (IDG), reported DrivingVisionNews.com.

Phosphor export values of Changshu, a city located in Jiangsu Province in China, reportedly tumbled 55% Year-on-Year in 2016, based on data compiled by local customs agency, reported Chinese-language media China News Service.

HC Semitek announced recently it sent an application to resume trade on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SSE) in China on Jan. 9, 2017.

India’s Power Minister Piyash Goyal announced the country implemented the largest streetlight replacement project in the in capital south Delhi, reported The Economic Times.

Osram CFO Ingo Bank doused rumors fueled in late 2016 about acquisition talks with Chinese investor Go Scale Capital during an interview with Bloomberg recently.

EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy efficient lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact for its customers, announced today the addition of Leroy Herring, Jr., who has extensive business and sales development experience in the lighting industry. Appointed Midwest Regional Sales Manager, Herring has helped large and small corporations navigate through tremendous business growth. As a result, Herring will be responsible for directing commercial sales through manufacturers rep agencies, electrical distribution, lighting showrooms, ESCOs, contractors and national accounts.

On Dec. 27, 2016, Nichia Corporation ("Nichia") filed four patent infringement lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The defendants in the lawsuits are (1) TTE Technology, a US-based LCD TV distributor, and its parent company, TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited, a Chinese manufacturer of LCD TVs; (2) VIZIO, a US-based LCD TV maker; (3) Lowe’s Home Center LLC (“Lowe’s”), a US-based retailer of LED lighting and other products, and Lowe’s affiliated U.S. distributor, L G Sourcing, Inc.; and (4) Feit Electric Company, Inc., a US-based LED lighting manufacturer and distributor. In these lawsuits, Nichia asserts that defendants have infringed Nichia’s U.S. Patent No. 9,490,411. Nichia seeks an injunction prohibiting the defendants’ sale and distribution of infringing products. Nichia also seeks damages for defendants’ infringement.

Western Indian state Goa has rolled out a large scale streetlight replacement project, and replaced existing compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and high pressure sodium vapor (HPSV) lamps with LED bulbs, reported Times of India.

Las Cruces, a city located in New Mexico, U.S. has nearly completed replacing 2,700 streetlights before February, reported Las Cruces Sun-News.

Jasco Products, leader in LED Lighting and Consumer Electronic Solutions, today with Energizer® Holdings, announced it has acquired the license to the Energizer brand to produce a range of LED consumer home lighting solutions in the U.S. and Canada. Energizer branded products will be showcased at the Jasco booth for the first time at CES 2017 (Booth #12000, Central Hall). This license agreement includes LED lighting fixtures including direct wire, battery operated, and plug-in solutions.

Chinese LED chip maker San’an Opto kicked off 2017 with a new round of product price hikes.

Nichia a leader in LED technology, has officially launched their new 319A high power LED product series. The 319A series is available through Nichia Sales Offices, Future Lighting Solutions (FLS), a world-class leader and innovator in the distribution and marketing of solid-state lighting technologies, and other partner distributors.

On Dec. 19, 2016, Nichia Corporation (“Nichia”) filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against TAKIZUMI ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. (“Takizumi”), a manufacturer and distributor of lighting fixtures, seeking an injunction and compensation for damages.

Taiwanese LED industry underwent significant changes in senior management including in leading LED manufacturer Everlight, Optotech, and Unistar Opto, reported Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in India intends to roll out a massive streetlight replacement project ahead of the annual holiday Ugadi, which takes place on March 29 this year, reported The Hans India.

One more day to go before the New Years, so how did the industry fare in 2016? LEDinside organized a couple of articles reviewing some top trends in technology advancements and international mergers. A couple trends that are becoming more evident over the past year is different research institutes searching for more energy efficient and lower cost materials, while international mergers between Western technology companies and Chinese investors are under more government scrutiny. We expect protectionism measures to become increasingly common in the next few years, especially under new U.S. President Donald Trump’s government.

AIXTRON announced that it intends to voluntarily delist its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) from The NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) and deregister and terminate its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act").

Chinese TV manufacturer LeEco’s takeover of U.S. TV maker Vizio for US $2 billion is still waiting for approval from Chinese government authorities, according to a TechNews report.

NVC Lighting and CAS Smart City signed an intelligent lighting partnership agreement recently in Huizhou, reported Yicai.com.

Last Friday, LED epiwafer manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) outlined its future roadmap at a press conference, stating it was redirecting its focus to CSP LEDs for automotive lighting, reported Money DJ.com.

Honglizhihui, formerly a Chinese LED package manufacturer known as Hongliopto, forecasted its profits could plummet as much as 40% for 2016 compared to the same period last year.