OSRAM Licht AG today started trading on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchange under the ticker symbol “OSR”. “Today’s listing marks the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s more than 100-year history and presents great opportunities for the company’s future development,” said Osram CEO Wolfgang Dehen. Management was recently on a roadshow visiting the important international capital markets, meeting with about 400 funds and banks to gauge their interest in Osram.
The start of trading was preceded by the company’s successful spin-off from Siemens AG. With this move their shareholders receive Osram shares at an allocation ratio of 10:1. A total of 80.5 percent of the more than 100 million no-par-value registered shares are free float shares. Siemens AG holds 17 percent of the capital stock of OSRAM Licht AG; a further 2.5 percent of the shares were transferred to the Siemens Pension Trust e.V. With a shareholder base of more than 700,000 investors at the start of trading, the Osram share is one of the major publicly traded stocks.
Osram had stepped up preparations for the listing in January 2013 after the general meetings of Siemens AG on January 23 and OSRAM Licht AG earlier on January 21 had authorized Osram’s spin-off from the Siemens Group. Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs International and UBS Limited are the designated sponsors.
Osram, as an integrated lighting expert, is clearly the number two player in the lighting market and positioned throughout the value chain, from LED chips, lamps, lights and light management systems to lighting solutions and the service business. The company generates more than 70 percent of its revenue with energy-efficient products that are part of its certified environmental portfolio. LED-based products today already account for more than 25 percent of overall revenue, which amounted to €5.4 billion last fiscal year and to €2.678 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year 2013.
