LED Business News: LSG, Dialight, Bridgelux, Nuventix, Firefly

Feb. 16, 2011
Lighting Science Group is conducting a public offering of stock, Bridgelux and Nuventix have both raised further funds, Dialight doubled its profit in 2010, and Firefly LED has received a funding grant.
Lighting Science conducts public offering

Lighting Science Group Corporation (OTCBB: LSCG), the Satellite Beach, Florida-based manufacturer of LED lighting products, has filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed public offering for the sale of $150 million of its common stock.

As VentureBeat explains, LSGC stock is already traded on the OTC Bulletin Board, while the public offering would allow the company to trade its stocks on the Nasdaq.

Majority ownership of LSG belongs to private-equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors. Earlier this year, LSGC completed an $18 million private placement of its common stock.

Dialight doubles annual pre-tax profit

Dialight plc, the UK supplier of LED-based solid-state lighting, has reported that its full-year revenue for the year ended 31 December 2010 grew 28.3% to GBP 99.2 million, compared with GBP 77.3 million in 2009. The company’s profit before tax more than doubled, reaching GBP 11.3 million compared with GBP 5.3 million in 2009. Dialight’s revenue in the signals/illumination segment increased 31.7% to GBP 61.1 million in 2010, and lighting sales more than doubled to GBP 11.6 million.

Roy Burton, Group Chief Executive, said: “A very satisfactory performance in Solid State Lighting, and indeed in the whole Signals/Illumination segment, gives us confidence in our strategy and in the Group’s prospects for the coming years.”

In commentary supporting the results announcement, Dialight said it had introduced a number of new products in 2010 as well as improving existing fixtures. It said that LED performance has “improved markedly over the year and we now have three viable suppliers of the best performing LEDs. At the end of 2009 we were using 100-lm/W devices in our lights and we now have a good supply at close to 140 lm/W, with 160 lm/W not too far away. This allows us either to downsize a given fixture with the consequent cost reduction, or improve the output at little to no extra cost.”

Bridgelux gains $21 million in funding

Bridgelux, a manufacturer of LED lighting arrays, has raised almost $21 million in its latest round of funding, according to the company’s SEC filing, as reported by VentureBeat.

Nuventix raises another $4.9 million

Austin, Texas-based Nuventix, a developer of LED cooling products, has raised $4.9 million in a new funding round, according to WiredVC website. An SEC filing by the firm shows that the funding is part of a series B round aiming to raise $10 million in total. This brings the company’s total capital-raising efforts to some $35 million. Nuventix has not released any further details to date, but previous investors include Advanced Technology Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, CenterPoint Ventures, InterWest Partners and RHO Ventures.

FireFly LED awarded $3 million

FireFly LED, an Austin, Texas-based startup that makes LED light bulbs, will receive a $3 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, according to the statesman.com website.

The company, housed in the Austin Technology Incubator, is working with the University of Texas to commercialize its LED lamp products. Last year, FireFly raised $300,000 in seed money from angel investors with the Central Texas Angel Network and the Concho Valley Angel Network.