Philips selling home appliance arm to Asian investment firm

THE HAGUE: Dutch firm Philips announced Thursday the sale of its home appliances business to Asian investment firm Hillhouse Capital for 3.7 billion euros ($4.4 billion), as the former electronics giant focuses on healthcare.

Hillhouse Capital, which says it has home bases in Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore, will lease the Philips brand name for 15 years under the deal for kitchen, coffee, garment clothes and home care appliances.

"I am pleased that in Hillhouse Capital we have found a new home for the domestic appliances business to further expand on its market leadership, strong brand and pipeline of new innovations," Philips CEO Frans van Houten said a statement.

Amsterdam-based Philips started off as a lighting company more than 100 years ago but has undergone major changes in recent years, focusing in particular on remote healthcare.

Philips said in January 2020 that it would sell off its home appliance arm over the following year and a half.

The deal to lease the Philips brand name will add further annual payments that would take the overall value of the sale to around 4.4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) when completed, Philips added.

Despite the sale, the home appliances business would remain headquartered in the Netherlands, it said.

"We look forward to joining forces with Philips to expand into new markets and capture more growth opportunities globally," Lei Zhang, the founder and chief executive of Hillhouse Capital, said in the Philips statement.

"We are aligned with Philips' mission to bring high quality products to support healthy and fulfilling lifestyles for consumers across the globe."