Philips sells its household arm to Chinese investor

Philips sells its household appliances division to Chinese investor Hillhouse Capital for 3.7 billion euros ($4.37 billion) according to Reuters. Philips, which divested Signify, its computer display and audio divisions before, focuses purely on medical devices and solutions. A choice that is appreciated by the financial markets in current pandemic times. “Going forward, our focus is on extending our leadership in health technology.”, says Frans van Houten, CEO.
The sale of the household division is not geopolitically sensitive.

What does this divestment mean for the Philips brand in the e-commerce market? In the short term not much. We expect that during and after the divestment, the familiar Philips brand will still be on “its” household appliances. Also after previous divestment cases, the Philips brand is still in use. TPV licenses the Philips brand for TV and computer displays, audio, and other devices, and Signify continues to license the brand for its lighting products. That may come to an end after a number of years.

That Philips sells its household arm leads to consolidation in a number of old tech categories. The investor will probably resell it or list the acquired business at a later point in time. It confirms the position of China as the global manufacturing hub for tech products.

Martijn Hoogeveen

Founder and CEO of Icecat NV. Investor. Ph.D.