Cree Buying LLF for $103M

LED chips and components maker Cree Inc. announced it will acquire privately held LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF) Inc., a company established by its co-founder, for approximately $103.4 million.

LLF was founded in 2005 in Morrisville, N.C., just outside Durham, where Cree has its headquarters. LLF makes luminaires containing LEDs and also develops LED retrofit products that can fit into existing light fixtures. It uses Cree's LEDs in its products, which are for commercial and residential use.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cree will acquire LLF for approximately $77 million in cash and stock. Another $26.4 million may be paid over the next three years if the company achieves certain product milestones and if key employees are retained. LLF will be renamed Cree LED Lighting Solutions. Neal Hunter, chairman and CEO of LLF and Cree co-founder, will rejoin Cree as president of Cree LED Lighting Solutions, and the remainder of the LLF management team will stay in place, Cree said.

"The combination of Cree's lighting-class LEDs and LLF's lighting systems technologies should set the stage for Cree to obsolete the light bulb, a 19th century invention that wastes energy and pollutes our environment," said Chuck Swoboda, Cree CEO. "We believe the market is at a tipping point, with billions of sockets in existing fixtures now addressable with energy-efficient LED lighting. Accelerating this market transformation benefits Cree, our LED customers and lighting consumers."

"Cree is as passionate as we are about moving the lighting market forward and making an impact on energy consumption into the next decade and beyond," said Hunter. "This acquisition should make Cree a powerful force for innovation around cutting-edge LED lighting solutions that are unmatched in the industry."

Cree said the acquisition, which is expected to close in March, will add about $1 million in revenue for its third quarter and about $30 million in revenue for fiscal 2009.

For more information, visit: www.cree.com