Global electrical and process automation giant Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, has agreed to acquire SPX Corp.’s 44.5% minority interest in EGS Electric Group LLC, giving Emerson full ownership of the business. EGS, which is home to a large handful of storied brands in the electrical industry, had estimated revenues of more than $500 million in fiscal 2013.
Emerson purchased SPX’s share for $571 million. SPX will net $350 million from the deal after taxes, which it planned to use for share repurchases and reducing debt, SPX CEO Chris Kearney said in the SPX statement on the deal.
Emerson and SPX, which is based in Charlotte, N.C., have jointly held the business since 1997, with Emerson responsible for operational management and consolidation of results in its Industrial Automation segment. Under that joint ownership, EGS has grown organically and by acquisition to cover a range of electrical products including fittings, hazardous location lighting, power conditioning and other categories. Among the electrical manufacturing companies acquired by EGS over the years are well-known names such as Appleton, O-Z/Gedney, Curlee, Sola/Hevi-Duty, Easy-Heat, Neer, Nelson Enclosures, ETP, McGill and others.
The company later announced that it will rebrand the business under the name Appleton Group.