BERLIN (Reuters) - German lighting group Osram <OSRn.DE> has put the luminaires part of its professional lighting business up for sale so it can focus on fast-growing high-tech businesses.
The luminaires business is part of Osram's LSS professional lighting division, which has struggled with tough markets in the United States and Europe.
Osram, which competes with Philips Lighting <LIGHT.AS> and General Electric <GE.N>, said on Tuesday that it would hold talks with possible buyers and provide an update at its Capital Markets Day in November.
"Thanks to numerous measures, the earnings position of the Lighting Solutions business unit has stabilized significantly, therefore allowing us to initiate an organised sales process," it said in a statement.
Munich-based Osram issued a full-year profit warning in June and is due to publish third-quarter results on Wednesday, with analysts forecasting a 74 percent drop in pretax profit.
In Osram's second quarter through the end of March, revenues at LSS dropped by 5.8 percent and its adjusted operating profit margin fell to a negative 6.4 percent from a negative 4.4 percent a year earlier.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Susan Fenton)
