Smart home products maker Savant Systems, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase GE Lighting, a division of GE (NYSE: GE). Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal will serve to combine Savant’s smart home know-how and pro-installer-channel distribution capabilities with the legacy of the GE Lighting brand, along with GE Lighting’s own expertise and retailer channels.
The proposed transaction includes a long-term licensing agreement for use of the GE brand. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close mid-2020, said the announcement.
“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,” said Savant Founder and CEO Robert Madonna in the announcement statement. “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.”
“Today’s transaction is another important step in the transformation of GE into a more focused industrial company,” added GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., in the 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 boasts a 130-year history that stems from the dawn of incandescent bulbs, and its arc includes the offering of industry-first LED and smart solutions along with the world’s first voice-embedded lighting product. GE Lighting will remain headquartered in Cleveland, and its more than 700 employees will transfer to Savant upon completion of the transaction, the announcement said.
The proposed transaction will bring together this legacy and expertise with Savant’s smart home solutions, unifying two recognizable premium brands in the lighting and connected home technology markets.
Savant’s products and solutions span lighting, security, climate and whole-house entertainment including smart speakers, energy management and beyond. While the acquisition of GE Lighting will broaden the market reach of both companies, the statement said that Savant brand remains committed to the professional installation channel for the home, and will continue to invest heavily in the development of products, solutions and services for this market.
