Gerard Lighting Group agrees to sale of infrastructure division to Schréder

January 22, 2020

Gerard Lighting Group (GLG) has announced today an agreement for the sale of the company’s infrastructure lighting division in Australia, Sylvania and Austube, to the Schréder Group, one of the world’s leading lighting solutions providers.

Headquartered in Belgium, Schréder has been operating as a family-owned business since 1907. It has over 2,600 employees in more than 35 locations worldwide, including Perth where it opened its first Australian subsidiary in 2015. Since then, the company has provided lighting solutions for a host of major infrastructure and urban renewal projects around the country.

GLG’s Sylvania and Austube businesses are Australia’s largest provider of lighting solutions to large-scale construction and infrastructure projects, with a significant portfolio of major projects both underway and in the pipeline. GLG is majority-owned by Bain Capital Credit and Investec which, through their strong support over several years, has enabled the company to maintain its position as the leading supplier in Australia and New Zealand of lighting solutions for the commercial, trade and residential markets.

In announcing the sale of the Sylvania and Austube divisions, Bain Capital Credit and Investec noted that “the strong strategic and cultural alignment between Schréder and Sylvania/Austube presented a compelling opportunity to realise strong value from one of GLG’s key operating businesses.”

GLG Chief Executive, Les Patterson, considers Schréder to be “a natural home for Sylvania and Austube for the long term," adding "the two businesses have a lot in common including a long and proud heritage, a commitment to innovation, and leadership positions in their respective geographies and product segments.”

Werner De Wolf, Schréder Chief Executive, explains “Sylvania and Austube are great businesses to add to Schréder. Their customer relationships and market position in Australia are outstanding. Combined with Schréder’s product portfolio and innovation pipeline, and our joint passion for lighting solutions, we will be able to delight our customers.

“This acquisition will be a great example of Schréder’s “local strength with global reach” strategy and we are very happy to welcome the Sylvania and Austube employees to Schréder.”

Patterson added that the Sylvania and Austube deal was a good outcome for GLG, providing scope for increased investment in the Pierlite division, the company’s market-leading commercial and industrial lighting solutions business.

“Pierlite is an important part of the Group and, with the on-going support of our shareholders, we’re excited by what it can deliver going forward through greater investment in capability and reach in the commercial and industrial segment.”

Sylvania and Austube’s operations will be largely unchanged for the foreseeable future and will continue to operate under the leadership of Kaushal Kapadia with pricing and supply arrangements unchanged.

The sale process is expected to be completed in the coming months.

Click here for further information on Gerard Lighting via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Image of South Belgrave Oval courtesy of Gerard Lighting.

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