BOSTON — GE announced on Wednesday that it is selling its lighting unit to smart home company Savant Systems for an undisclosed amount.
The proposed transaction includes a long-term licensing agreement for use of the GE brand. GE Lighting will remain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and its more than 700 employees will transfer to Savant upon completion of the transaction.
“Today’s transaction is another important step in the transformation of GE into a more focused industrial company," GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. said in a statement. "Our GE Lighting colleagues will join a fast-growing leader in home automation that shares their passion for bringing the future to light. Together with Savant, GE Lighting will continue its legacy of innovation, while we at GE will continue to advance the infrastructure technologies that are core to our company and draw on the roots of our founder, Thomas Edison.”
GE Lighting has been in existence for 129 years and has evolved from the dawn of incandescent bulbs to LED and smart solutions, along with the world’s first voice-embedded lighting product. Today, GE Lighting’s portfolio includes leading home lighting and innovative smart home solutions.
While the acquisition of GE Lighting will broaden the market reach of both companies, Massachusetts-based Savant says its brand remains steadfastly committed to the professional installation channel for the home, and it will continue to invest heavily in the development of the most advanced products, solutions and services for this market.
“Savant’s mission from the start has been to create the number one smart home brand in the world, and I am confident that the acquisition of GE Lighting has moved us significantly toward that ultimate goal. We are committed to ensuring that GE Lighting’s long history of industry leadership continues, while bringing exceptional value and reliability to retail partners and consumers as the number one intelligent lighting company worldwide. Never before has connectivity, security, intelligent lighting and entertainment, all enjoyed within the comforts of home, been more top of mind with consumers," Savant Founder and CEO Robert Madonna added in the statement.
The transaction is expected to close sometime in the middle of this year.