10th July 2020

Ams completes acquisition of Osram

Share this page:

Ams completes acquisition of Osram

Within days of receiving EU regulatory approval Austrian sensor company Ams announced July 9th completion of the acquisition of Munich based Osram Licht AG. Ams now holds 69% of outstanding shares in a deal that values Osram at more than €4 billion. This is the finale to a story which saw Osram subject of a takeover bid by Bain and Caryle in summer of 2019, having originally spun off from Siemens in 2013. Osram has struggled over recent years dealing with weakness in its core automotive sector customer group and has been pursuing a transformation from its roots as a light bulb manufacturer to become a high-tech supplier of chip, sensors and digital lighting systems. With the deal completed Ams can now focus on its strategic ambition to be a global leader in sensor solutions and photonics for both mobile and consumer, as well as for automotive, industrial and medical applications.

Osram’s patent portfolio comprises over 5,700 patent families marking a step change in size for acquirer Ams. We have analysed the combined patent portfolio by grouping those families with similar characteristics into technology clusters. At a high level this is done through matching similarities in the patent meta data, specifically the (i) CPC codes (ii) citations (iii) title and (iv) abstract, with weightings attached to each. The largest cluster of patent families relate largely to LEDs, opto-electronics, light and radiation emitting associated inventions with a tail of overlapping clusters in the combined portfolio through lamps, sensors and other electronic component technologies.

 

The overlapping clusters across the combined patent portfolio highlights the technology synergies and the contribution that Osram makes to Ams’ ambition for wins in new breakthrough optical solutions. Included amongst the long list of items for management of the new group will be an examination of the patent portfolio and its optimisation to match with existing product line contributions and key strategic goals.

For more information on the Ams Osram patent portfolio or insight on current best practice for patent portfolio optimisation to maximise dollars spent in protecting innovation and minimising threat risk, please get in touch.

Insights & Events

Europe’s Chemicals Industry: The Benefits and Risks Posed by the UPC

Examining the patent landscape of the chemicals industry in Europe following the establishment of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
Read more

Key Patent Innovations and the BlackBerry portfolio

Following its acquisition by Key Patent Innovations, we revisited our analysis of the BlackBerry patent portfolio, identifying the areas at risk.
Read more

How innovation affects revenue for Big Tech

Big Tech firms thrive on innovation, and patents play a crucial role. Our analysis tracks the activity of Apple, Google, Microsoft and others over the last 20 years.
Read more

Meta’s Threads platform a direct challenge to Twitter

Our analysis finds that Meta’s patent portfolio illustrates its invention ownership strength in the technology stack that underpins the Twitter platform.
Read more

21st Century Evolution of Sustainable Plastic Technology Trends

To mark World Environment Day, Cipher tracks sustainable plastics technology innovators and owners in the 21st century.
Read more

The increasing importance of IP

How intellectual property (IP) moved into the business mainstream, as seen from the perspective of guests on the Cipher Vision Podcast.
Read more

With Cipher you can…

Portfolio Optimisation connecting cogs

Optimise your portfolio

Ensure you have the right portfolio to meet your strategic patenting objectives.

Read more
Competitive Intelligence

Gather competitor intelligence

Understand who’s doing what by automating patent to technology mapping.

Read more
Cross Licensing

Model cross licensing

Combine patent and revenue data to determine rational licensing outcomes.

Read more

Manage your budget

Justify patent budgets and communicate the impact of your investment.

Read more

Conduct due diligence

Automate manual reviews for efficient execution of M&A and licensing transactions.

Read more

Tackle inbound patent assertion

Be prepared with evidence to create a fast and effective threat assessment.

Read more

Benchmark your portfolio

Assess your portfolio in comparison to other owners through your technology lens.

Read more

Monetise your portfolio

Identify opportunities to create value through licensing or sale of patent assets.

Read more
Technology Trends icon

Predict technology trends

Track new technologies and discover the unknown owners of future innovation.

Read more
Icon of a meter

Create Risk Mitigation Strategies

Understand the materiality of your threats to define your risk mitigation strategy.

Read more

Improve your patent strategy now

Speak to our team today.

Arrange a callback