Breaking! GE Lighting business sold!

On May 27, General Electric (GE) announced that it has signed a final agreement to sell its lighting business (consumer-centric home lighting) to Savant Systems, Inc., an industry leader in the professional smart home sector. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

This move marks the end of an era as GE bids farewell to its lighting business with nearly 130 years of history.

For nearly 130 years, from the birth of the incandescent lamp to the industry's first LED and smart solution, and the world's first voice-enabled lighting product, GE Lighting has always been at the forefront of every major lighting innovation. Today, GE Lighting's product portfolio includes leading home lighting and innovative smart home solutions.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and CEO of GE, stated: 'Today's transaction is another important step in GE's transformation into a more focused industrial company. Our GE Lighting colleagues will join the ranks of a leader in the rapidly growing home automation field, sharing their passion to illuminate the future. GE Lighting will inherit its legacy of innovation together with Savant. Meanwhile, GE will continue to develop the core infrastructure technologies of our company and strengthen the foundation laid by our founder Thomas Edison.'

Savant founder and CEO Robert Madonna stated: "From the very beginning, Savant's mission has been to build the world's number one smart home brand. I firmly believe that acquiring GE Lighting will greatly propel us toward this ultimate goal. We are committed to ensuring that GE Lighting's long-standing industry leadership continues while delivering exceptional value and reliability to retail partners and consumers, making it the world's number one smart lighting company. Unprecedented connectivity, security, smart lighting, and entertainment features, all accessible from the comfort of home, are what consumers focus on."

The press release indicates that GE Lighting's headquarters will remain in Cleveland, Ohio, and after the transaction is completed, its more than 700 employees will transfer to Savant.

这笔交易将把这一遗产和专业知识与Savant一流的智能家居解决方案和著名的创新文化相结合，即将GE的品牌、照明专业知识和零售商渠道与Savant创新的智能家居技术和专业家居安装渠道结合起来，创建一个在照明和互联家居技术领域值得信赖和知名的高端品牌的联盟。

The proposed transaction includes a long-term license agreement for the use of the GE brand. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in mid-2020. UBS Investment Bank served as GE's chief financial advisor.

It is reported that Savant possesses award-winning products and solutions covering lighting, security, climate control, whole-home entertainment including smart speakers, energy management, etc., making it one of the fastest-growing smart home companies, committed to supporting innovation in the Luminaire sector and helping retailers increase sales year over year.

As a pioneer in the global lighting industry, GE Lighting was once listed alongside Philips and OSRAM as one of the 'world's three major lighting giants'. Starting from 2016, GE began to gradually scale back its lighting business operations:

On November 30, 2016, GE announced the termination of all direct commercial activities in Asia and Latin America, effectively exiting these markets. On June 9, 2017, GE officially announced the sale of its lighting business. By the end of August 2017, GE began closing its luminaire factories in Lexington and Somerset, USA, which primarily produced traditional lighting products. In early February 2018, GE announced its agreement to sell its lighting operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, as well as its global automotive lighting business, to a company controlled by its former executive Joerg Bauer. Mid-February 2018 saw GE agree to sell the European portion of its overseas lighting business. On November 6, 2018, Current, a subsidiary of GE, was sold to the private equity firm American Industrial Partners (AIP).

Source: China Light Network