Eaton Corp., Dublin, Ireland, said it intends to pursue a tax-free spin-off of its Lighting business. The spin-off will create an independent, publicly traded company and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Goldman Sachs is serving as Eaton’s financial advisor on the transaction.
The move will create a stand-alone powerhouse in luminaires and controls with a package of brands mostly built by Cooper Lighting, which Eaton acquired in 2012, including Halo, Metalux, McGraw-Edison, Neo-Ray, Lumiere, Lumark, Pauluhn, Corelite, Ephesus and AtLite.
In a letter this morning to customers and channel partners, Eaton Lighting President Kraig Kasler and VP Sales Joe Melchiors said the Crouse-Hinds Industrial Lighting business and the Life Safety division’s emergency lighting product lines in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will remain with Eaton.
The Eaton Lighting business had sales of $1.7 billion in 2018, serving customers in commercial, industrial, residential and municipal markets.
More to come.