GE to Acquire Lineage Power from The Gores Group

GE announced it has signed an agreement to acquire privately heldLineage Power Holdings, Inc., from The Gores Group.

According to a release, Lineage Power is a global provider ofhigh-efficiency power conversion infrastructure technology andservices for the telecommunications and datacenter industries. Thedeal will open the door for GE Energy technology to be deployed inthe $20 billion per year power conversion space, where the demandfor power is driven by the growth in cloud computing and mobileinternet voice, video and data applications.

Lineage Power had revenues of approximately $450 million in 2010.The transaction is valued at approximately $520 million or eighttimes enterprise value on 2011 EBITDA basis. The deal is expected toclose in the first quarter of 2011, subject to customary closingconditions, including receipt of regulatory approval. Lineage Poweris headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has nearly 2,300 employees,with manufacturing operations in China, Mexico and India.

GE noted that the deal is the latest in a series of announcementsthat will expand its $40 billion energy portfolio of solutions forcustomers in vital industries. In October 2010, GE announced thesigning of a contract to acquire Dresser Inc., a Dallas-based energyinfrastructure company. Last month, the company announced itsintention to make an offer for 100 percent of Wellstream HoldingsPLC, a British oil pipe manufacturer.

"According to recent studies, there will be 1.1 billionsmartphones sold globally by 2013," said Dan Heintzelman, GE EnergyServices president & CEO. "Every new mobile device plugs into aninfrastructure that requires an ever increasing amount of high-quality power. The growth in high-bandwidth mobile internetapplications and cloud computing is accelerating that demand. Aglobally networked planet needs a lot of power to keep spinning.Customers want efficient, reliable means to manage that power."

Heintzelman adds, "As the data-driven economy grows, the additionof Lineage Power's business platform continues the expansion of GEEnergy's offerings from the electric grid to datacenters, celltowers, routers, servers and circuit board electronics."

Lineage Power CEO Craig Witsoe said, "Joining GE will enhance ourcompany's resources to provide best-in-class energy technologies toour telecommunications and data communications customers. Ourleadership in high-efficiency power conversion solutions haspositioned us to serve the explosive growth in mobile internetdemand driven by 3G and 4G/LTE wireless networks that enable theAmazon Kindle, Apple iPhone and iPad, Google Android smart phonesand other mobile devices. We are also bringing to GE exciting newsolutions for high-efficiency datacenter architecture, data storageand cloud computing. Rooted in our Bell Labs heritage, our employeeshave built an innovative and customer-centric company. We lookforward to building upon our foundation of technology leadership andstrong, long-term customer relationships with GE."

"We were confident in the significant potential for Lineage Powerwhen we acquired the company three years ago," said Ryan Wald,managing director of The Gores Group. "Through the addition of CraigWitsoe and the efforts of a distinguished global management teamwith decades of experience in the industrial, technology, power andelectronics sectors, the company was stabilized, returned toprofitable growth and built into the business it is today. The GoresGroup is proud to have provided the financial and operationalsupport as part of that process. The company has a bright futurewith GE, and we know Lineage Power customers, partners and employeescan benefit from GE's global relationships, resources and brandequity."

GE is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company.From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services,health care solutions and television programming, GE operates inmore than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.

The Gores Group is a private equity firm focused on acquiringcontrolling interests in mature and growing businesses which canbenefit from the firm's operating experience and capital base.

More Information:

ge.com

lineagepower.com

gores.com

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