July 30, 2025
ams OSRAM Sells Specialty Lamp Business to Ushio
Above: HNI Digital lamp for broadcast & media applications Image credit: ams OSRAM
Entertainment, medical, and semiconductor lamp categories shift to Japanese optics firm
Another lighting business quietly changes hands: ams OSRAM has agreed to sell its Entertainment and Industry Lamps operations to Japan’s Ushio Inc. for € 114 million ($133 million), with closing expected by March 2026. About 500 employees are set to transfer as part of the deal.
The business in question — spanning high-performance lighting for cinema projection, semiconductor processing, airfield infrastructure, ultraviolet systems, solar simulation, medical devices, and entertainment applications — generated € 170 million ($199 million) in revenue in 2024. While ams OSRAM doesn’t disclose margins, Ushio claims the group is “already recording stable profits” and expects the acquisition to yield a return on invested capital exceeding 10 percent.
This marks the first divestment under ams OSRAM’s recently accelerated “deleveraging plan”, which targets more than € 500 million in proceeds. CEO Aldo Kamper called the transaction a step toward focusing on core markets like semiconductors and sensors while easing the company’s debt load.
Ushio sees the deal as a strategic bolt-on — strengthening its industrial process lighting segment, particularly in the semiconductor market. The company plans to integrate the acquired product lines and personnel to drive production efficiencies and expand market share.
For longtime observers of OSRAM, this is part of a broader pattern. Since 2021, the company has offloaded several legacy lighting brands and business units — including Digital Lumens, Fluence, Traxon and Clay Paky — as it pivots away from legacy lighting segments. The latest sale fits that mold: quiet, focused, and unlikely to make waves outside niche applications, but still significant within a shifting industry.
