Osram was founded in 1919 by the merger of the lighting businesses of Auergesellschaft, Siemens & Halske and Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG). Osram was a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG from 1978 to 2013. On 5 July 2013, Osram was spun off from Siemens, and the listing of its stock began on Frankfurt Stock Exchange on 8 July 2013.[5] Osram's business with conventional light sources was spun off in 2016 under the name Ledvance and sold to a Chinese consortium.[6]
After a bidding war[7] with Bain Capital, Osram was taken over by Austrian company AMS in July 2020.[8][9][10] Since then, the company has operated under the name AMS Osram.[11]
The name is derived from osmium and Wolfram, German for tungsten. Both elements were commonly used for lighting filaments at the time the company was founded.
comprised 43% of total Osram sales.[23] In 2019, Osram sold Sylvania to Wesco International, Inc.[24]
In 1998, Osram acquired the lamp business of ECE Industries India for $9.55 million. In 2009, Osram acquired Traxon Technologies. In 2011, Osram acquired Siteco.
On 8 July 2013 Siemens spun Osram off, and Osram listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
On 3 March 2021, ams AG announced that the Domination and Profit and Loss Transfer Agreement (“DPLTA”) between AMS Offer GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMS AG, the parent company of AMS Group, and Osram Licht AG (“Osram”), became effective on that day. The combined company focuses on optical systems and serves the entire value chain including sensing, visualization and illumination, with products ranging from emitters to sensors and software.[25]