Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken NV expects to reach agreement shortly on the sale of a large majority interest in its Hollandse Signaalapparaten BV defence electronics subsidiary to Thomson-CSF SA of France, with speculation that the stake will be around 79%; the negotiations also cover the acquisition by Thomson-CSF of a minority in the defence activies of the Belgian MBLE subsidiary and all of the defence activities of the Telecommuications Radioelectriques et Telephoniques SA of France, in which Philips owns a 49% stake at present; the units had sales of about $600m last year; Philips’ UK and US defence businesses are excluded.
