Philips to sell 15 percent stake in Lighting unit in line with plan

(Reuters) - Philips (PHG.AS) said on Wednesday it will sell 14.8 percent stake in Philips Lighting (LIGHT.AS), eight months after a successful spin-off and stock market listing of the unit, in line with its plan to exit fully in two years.

Philips, set up in 1891 as a maker of light bulbs before expanding into consumer electronics, spun off the lighting business in May by selling 25 percent stake, making Philips Lighting the world's largest independent lighting maker.

Shares in Philips Lighting have risen 20 percent since then.

Philips will offer 22.25 million shares, of which the lighting company plans to buyback 3.5 million shares, up to a maximum of 25 percent of the total offering.

The shares offered are worth about 530 million euros (452.61 million pounds) based on Wednesday's closing price.

Philips said it currently owns a 71.2 percent stake in Lighting, and expects its stake will be reduced to about 56.4 percent, if all the shares offered are sold.

Philips expects the transaction to settle on Monday.

(Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan in Gdynia, editing by David Evans)