European Shopping Spree Starts With PHG By Jim Cramer About this article: It's finally happening. A European company -- Philips -- is buying a classic, dominant American company, Genlyte Group, which excels at commercial lighting. Genlyte has been ripe for consolidation for years. The fact that it got nearly a 50% premium isn't shocking because the euro is up 50% vs. the dollar, so Philips is "stealing" the company with euros. Philips wants to own the lighting market; nothing beats buying the company that owns the commercial/industrial lighting segment and has for years. I believe this is just the beginning of the invasion. So many of the giant European companies -- Siemens, Unilever, Nestle, have hoards of cash that can be put to use in this weak dollar environment. Look to this deal to be the template. It's just too juicy for these companies not to take advantage of the bargains. At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in any... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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