Philips has taken a first step towards selling a stake in a lighting components business it is currently carving out by appointing Morgan Stanley to handle the sale process, three people familiar with the matter said.The Dutch company said last month that it would create the division by merging its light-emitting diodes (LEDs) business Lumileds and its automotive lighting businesses, which have combined sales of about $1.8 billion.Philips has said the business would be better placed to compete on a standalone basis for outside customers which currently regard the Philips group as a rival.Profit figures for the establishment have not been made public but one of the sources said that the margin of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) over sales was roughly 20 percent.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS fell by 0.3% or $-0.1/share to $33.30. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $25.25 and as high as $33.60. On average, 9701160 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1823363.
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