Slumping US industrial giant General Electric on Tuesday announced plans to sell its energy-efficiency business Current for an undisclosed sum as it works to reduce debt.
During an earnings conference call last week, new chief executive Lawrence Culp highlighted debt reduction as a priority and confirmed the company would go ahead with a plan announced in June to shed its oil services and health business units.
BUYER
Private equity firm American Industrial Partners (AIP) is to purchase Current, which sells energy-efficiency technology to commercial, industrial and municipal customers in a transaction expected to close next year, the companies said.
The business sells infrastructure technology, such as LED and solar, along with digital applications.
GE has been reporting the business as part of its Consumer Lighting segment, which brought in US$385 million in revenues in the quarter ending Sept. 30, which accounted for only about 1.4 percent of overall industrial revenues.
GE, the once-dominant industrial giant, has been under pressure since announcing a US$22.8 billion quarterly loss on Oct. 30, due to a large downgrade of assets. That has sparked US government investigations of GE accounting.
The day after the results, Moody’s downgraded GE’s debt rating, citing the weakness of the company’s power business and “operational missteps.”
The company, which replaced its chief executive early last month, also slashed its dividend to almost nothing.
ASSET SALES
GE has announced at least US$10 billion in asset sales over the past 12 months, including its century-old rail business in May, as it focuses on aviation, power-
generation equipment and renewable energy.
The Boston-based company sold the bulk of its international and automotive lighting businesses earlier this year.
AIP has more than 90 transactions completed and US$4.2 billion of assets under management, according to the statement.
Its portfolio companies employ more than 51,000 workers and have combined revenue of about US$12 billion, according to its Web site.
Current chief executive Maryrose Sylvester will continue to run the business.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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