News: LEDs
5 November 2026
Penguin Solutions to sell Cree LED to Transom
Penguin Solutions Inc of Fremont, CA, USA Penguin Solutions (which designs, builds and manages next-generation data centers for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers) has agreed to sell its business Cree LED Inc of Durham, NC, in an all-cash transaction to Transom Capital Group of Los Angeles, CA, an operations-focused middle-market private equity firm.
Penguin says that the planned divestiture will further align its portfolio, resources and capital allocation priorities with the significant growth opportunities it sees in data-center AI infrastructure and memory.
This sharpened focus is expected to advance the company’s Full-Stack AI Factory Platform strategy, which combines differentiated infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, and end-to-end services designed to help customers accelerate deployment, optimize token economics, and maximize returns on their AI investments.
The transaction will position Cree LED as a standalone LED business under Transom’s ownership, enabling it to build on its longstanding history of innovation, customer relationships, and differentiated LED technologies across lighting, displays and specialty applications.
“Today’s announcement marks another milestone in Penguin Solutions’ transformation into a pure-play, data-center-focused company at the intersection of AI infrastructure and memory,” says Penguin Solutions’ president & CEO Kash Shaikh. “Since launching our AI Factory Platform earlier this year, we have accelerated our financial performance, delivering 58% year-over-year net sales growth in the second half of fiscal 2026, with earnings growing substantially faster than revenue, and provided a strong fiscal 2027 growth outlook,” he adds.
“The Cree LED divestiture further demonstrates our disciplined execution, allowing us to concentrate on the significant growth opportunities we see in AI data centers. We believe it positions us for sustained profitable growth,” he Shaikh continues.
“Cree LED has an impressive legacy of innovation and an established reputation in the LED industry for high-quality products, reliable performance, and longstanding customer relationships worldwide,” comments Transom’s managing director Conor Davenport. “We see significant opportunity to build on this foundation, leveraging our operational expertise and resources to position Cree LED for long-term success as a standalone company.”
The transaction is expected to close in first-quarter 2027, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
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