Investment Group Acquires Bridgelux and Bridgelux Spins Off Xenio for Smart Lighting
Bridgelux, a leading developer and manufacturer of solid state lighting (SSL) technologies, announced it has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investment group led by the China Electronics Corporation (CEC), and ChongQing Linkong Development Investment Company. Established in 1989, CEC controls 61 second-level subsidiaries, including 13 listed holding companies. With over 70,000 employees, CEC is one of the largest IT companies in China. In conjunction with the sale of Bridgelux to the investment group led by CEC, Bridgelux also announced that the Board of Directors has approved a plan to spin off its Smart Lighting LED platform business under the name of Xenio Corporation.
CEC and Bridgelux:
"The advances Bridgelux has made over the last 13 years have been instrumental in driving the adoption of energy efficient LED technologies worldwide. Bridgelux has all of the characteristics we look for in an investment, including leading technology, a broad IP portfolio and a globally recognizable brand and channel,” stated Mr. Liu, CEO of CEC. “This investment is an important step toward further aligning CEC and partner assets into a coordinated supply chain built to serve the unique requirements of the solid state lighting market.”
With its existing investments in lighting fixture and lamp manufacturing as well as other IT and consumer electronics technologies, CEC’s captive businesses is expected offer substantial scale and growth for Bridgelux. Additionally, CEC and its affiliates have built technology development and manufacturing operations across the LED supply chain. Alignment with these partners will give Bridgelux a durable, long-term cost advantage, complimenting its existing technology leadership, and will further allow Bridgelux to focus on segment and application level innovations to better serve its customers.
“We are convinced that CEC is the perfect partner to help Bridgelux achieve its next level of growth. Leveraging the momentum of our existing partnerships with CEC affiliates, complimented by a strong supply chain, world-class manufacturing, and chip, packaging and go-to-market capabilities, CEC will help Bridgelux expand its technology footprint and reach more customers globally.” stated Brad Bullington, CEO of Bridgelux.
Following the acquisition, Bridgelux will continue to operate as a standalone company, reporting into CEC through a US subsidiary. Additionally, Bridgelux will spin off its smart lighting business as a new standalone company, Xenio Corporation. Bridgelux and Xenio will be led by the current Bridgelux management team. Xenio will focus on LED module design and manufacturing to address the emerging $135B lighting opportunity in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. The Xenio team most recently made news with the launch of its Xenio Point, Xenio Link, and Xenio Power products at the Lightfair International Exhibition in New York. Long term, Xenio will benefit from close technology and distribution relationships with Bridgelux as well as CEC and Toshiba.
Bridgelux and CEC expect the acquisition to close within the next six to eight weeks, subject to customary regulatory approvals. After the close, Bridgelux will continue to serve its customers on a standalone basis by continuing forward with its existing products and next-generation roadmap. Over time, Bridgelux expects to see the benefits of its enhanced relationship with the CEC supply chain through an expansion of its product portfolio and a greater ability to serve its lighting customers with an expanded range of new technologies.
Xenio to Bring Innovative Smart-Lighting Platforms to Worldwide Markets Faster:
Xenio will focus on the development of software-enabled LED modules for the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market, benefitting from partnerships and investments from Bridgelux, Toshiba, DCM Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners, and other ecosystem partners.
The new company, which will have independent, dedicated engineering and go-to-market teams located in San Francisco, will be overseen by Brad Bullington, as Executive Chairman. Mr. Bullington, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Bridgelux, will leverage the leadership talent of Bridgelux while seeking additional expertise from the IoT and building management industries.
Having incubated a number of core technology assets and IP over the past two years inside of Bridgelux, Xenio will have a running start at addressing the $135B IoT opportunity in lighting. Most recently, the company announced the launch of its Xenio™ Point, Xenio Link, and Xenio Power solutions at Lightfair International in New York. The products will ship in volume later this year.
“Establishing Xenio as a stand-alone company is a significant acknowledgment of the unique capabilities required to serve a new set of connected lighting and data infrastructure platforms which we believe will unlock the potential of solid state lighting technology” stated Brad Bullington, Executive Chairman at Xenio. “We are creating a new company that has a strong LED-heritage and all of the requisite tools to grow its business. At the same time, this transaction allows us to immediately focus on addressing the rapidly growing opportunity in IoT and connected devices.”
Xenio’s mission will be to develop and deliver networked and software-driven solutions that bring intelligence to lighting fixtures, providing a powerful platform to deliver IoT services in the rapidly growing smart building space. Critical to this effort will be Xenio’s seamless integration of LED light source technology with advanced power, radio, sensor, application and cloud software into a low-cost, easy-to-install network.
These technologies will combine to enable high-quality lighting experiences such as deep dimming and color tuning while deploying the sensor network to reduce energy consumption, and drive real-time engagement with occupants or even goods inside a building. In a store, the Xenio network can draw attention to a displayed product by brightening a spotlight as shoppers walk down an aisle. Similarly, lighting can dim in employee cubicles when they are away or adjust in response to changes in natural lighting. It can also change color to create a more comfortable and productive environment.
“With a focus on providing a complete, intelligent technology solution for lighting and systems manufacturers, we believe we can deliver a revolutionary smart-lighting platform that will further enable the Internet of Things,” continued Bullington.
About Bridgelux:
Bridgelux is a leading developer and manufacturer of lighting technologies and solutions that invites companies, industries and people to experience the power, possibility and financial potential of LED lighting. Headquartered in Livermore, California, Bridgelux employs more than 145 employees with global sales and services within international markets. Born of world-class engineering and informed by human intuition, the company's LED arrays and chips replace traditional lighting technologies with integrated, solid-state lighting solutions that make it possible for its customers to provide high performance, human-centric influenced light for the commercial, industrial and outdoor markets. For more information about the company, please visit www.bridgelux.com.
