OSRAM SYLVANIA Acquires Motorola Lighting, Creating One of the Leading Electronic Ballast Producers in North America.

Business/Technology Editors

DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2000

OSRAM SYLVANIA, a Siemens company and one of the top lighting manufacturers in North America, said today it has completed the purchase of Motorola Lighting, based in Lake Zurich, Ill. The combination creates one of the leading North American designers and producers of electronic ballasts for the lighting industry. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

A ballast is a device used with an electric discharge lamp, such as fluorescent and high-intensity discharge lamps like those used in sporting arenas, to obtain the necessary circuit conditions that start the lamp and keep it operating. Electronic ballasts - with vastly improved operating characteristics, energy-saving features, and their smaller size and lighter weight -- are rapidly replacing the older magnetic-type ballasts that have been in existence since fluorescent lighting was first produced in the 1940s.

"The joining of Motorola's electronic ballast business with our existing ballast and lamp business is a positive development for the industry, for our customers and for employees of both companies," said Dean Langford, president of OSRAM SYLVANIA. "The core focus of both companies is the same, as is the commitment to innovation and customer focus. We are excited about new growth opportunities, since the technologies and respective industry positions of each company complement each other extremely well."

Executive staff named

The Motorola Lighting operations will become part of OSRAM SYLVANIA's ballast business, known as Electronic Control Systems. Dr. Fritz Schipp, vice president and general manager of Electronic Control Systems, will continue in that position.

Tom Goldner, formerly in charge of manufacturing for Motorola Lighting since May 1999, will head manufacturing for the new organization. Jay Donovan, controller for Electronic Control Systems since 1996, will continue in his position. The director of human resources will be Alan Barlow, who also is director of human resources for Automotive Lighting and employment brand management for OSRAM SYLVANIA. Additional appointments will be announced in the near future as transition teams complete their work.

With the acquisition, Electronic Control Systems now has manufacturing, marketing, and research and development operations in Lake Zurich, Ill.; marketing, administration and research and development in Danvers and Beverly, Mass.; research and development in New Delhi, India; and manufacturing and quality assurance in China. The business, which employs some 500 people, manufactures ballasts for linear and compact fluorescent lamps, as well as high-intensity discharge lamps.

During the last fiscal year, Motorola Lighting had sales in excess of $125 million. OSRAM SYLVANIA and its parent, OSRAM of Munich, Germany, had global ballast sales of about 190 million Euros (approximately US$184 million) in its last fiscal year.