Cree say that the acquisition expands its market opportunities by providing direct access to the lighting market. Cree are now a vertically integrated manufacturer of LED chips, components and lighting products. In a conference call just after the original announcement, Chuck Swoboda, chairman and CEO of Cree, described the deal as a “bold step forward in leading the LED lighting revolution,” and also said it would benefit Cree’s LED customers. When asked about potentially complicated competition in the lighting market between Cree and their LED customers, Swoboda said the main purpose of the deal is to drive the retrofit market: “Our fixture customers are focused on building completely new fixtures, for new construction applications. LLF fills an unserved need in the marketplace today, allowing us to address this retrofit market for existing lighting sockets.and provide LED products for existing lighting sockets.” Because of this, said Swoboda, the acquisition “complements the strategy” of Cree’s LED customers, who are focused on applications requiring completely new fixtures.