GE Lighting to be acquired

GE is selling its most historic business. 

Savant Systems, a provider of smart home technology, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the nearly 130-year-old GE Lighting, a division of GE. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal, which is expected to close in mid-2020, includes a long-term licensing deal for Savant to use the GE brand. GE Lighting will remain headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company’s more than 700 employees will transfer to Massachusetts-based Savant after the deal closes.

“Today's transaction is another important step in the transformation of GE into a more focused industrial company," said Larry Culp, CEO. GE. "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.”

The proposed transaction will bring together GE’s legacy and expertise with Savant’s best-in-class smart home solutions and culture of innovation, creating a union of trusted and recognizable premium brands in the lighting and connected home technology markets, according to a statement by Savant.  

“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. “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.”