align="justify">Cree has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $77 million, plus up to an additional $26.4 million over a three-year period.

LLF is pioneering the development of LED lighting retrofit products and is recognized in the lighting industry as the first company to develop a viable, energy-efficient LED down light for general illumination. The product is being used in commercial and residential applications and is based on the combination of Cree's lighting-class XLamp LEDs and LLF's color-mixing technology, which produces both very high efficiency and superior color quality.

The acquisition will expand Cree's market opportunity by providing direct access to the lighting market. It will enable Cree to drive retrofit solutions to convert existing lighting infrastructure to energy-efficient lighting and to accelerate the adoption of LED lighting. With this acquisition, Cree's business will encompass LED chips, components, and lighting products.

"The combination of Cree's lighting-class LEDs and LLF's lighting systems technologies should set the stage for Cree to obsolete the light bulb, a 19th century invention that wastes energy and pollutes our environment," said Chuck Swoboda, CEO of Cree. "We believe the market is at a tipping point, with billions of sockets in existing fixtures now addressable with energy-efficient LED lighting. Accelerating this market transformation benefits Cree, our LED customers, and lighting consumers."

LFF will be renamed Cree LED Lighting Solutions. Neal Hunter, chairman and CEO of LLF and Cree co-founder, will rejoin Cree as president of Cree LED Lighting Solutions. The remainder of the LLF management team will continue in their roles within the organization.