Acuity Boosts its LED Architectural Lighting with Acquisition of Renaissance

Aug. 13, 2010
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI), Atlanta, has acquired Renaissance Lighting, Inc., a privately-held manufacturer of LED architectural lighting. Renaissance,

Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI), Atlanta, has acquired Renaissance Lighting, Inc., a privately-held manufacturer of LED architectural lighting. Renaissance, based in Herndon, Va., makes LED-based specification-grade downlighting luminaires and has developed an extensive intellectual property portfolio related to advanced LED optical solutions and technologies.

Acuity Brands has had a strategic partnership with Renaissance, including a minority ownership stake and a license to the company's intellectual property estate, valued at $9.1 million. The IP component includes Renaissance's Constructive Occlusion optical system used in its Gotham Ecos downlighting family.

Acuity Brands at the same time announced the purchase of an intellectual property portfolio that includes certain foundational patents that were owned by another technology company Acuity declined to name, but whose technology was exclusively licensed to Renaissance. The acquisitions will enhance Acuity's capabilities in lighting sensors and related controls. Terms of the two purchases were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of Renaissance and the purchase of related intellectual property support the company's strategy to deliver superior, technologically-advanced lighting solutions,” said Vernon Nagel, chairman, president, and CEO of Acuity Brands. “This acquisition will extend our innovation capabilities in solid-state lighting and controls, enabling Acuity Brands to continue to deliver leading-edge lighting solutions to the market.”

“Since its inception in 2005, Renaissance has amassed a high-caliber team with exceptional vision about the future of lighting and has developed a patent portfolio to foster the realization of that vision,” said Barry Weinbaum, chief executive officer of Renaissance Lighting. “The merger into Acuity Brands is a tremendous opportunity to broaden the impact of Renaissance's technology as it is showcased in Acuity Brands' expansive lighting and controls portfolio.”

Acuity Brands, one of the world's leading providers of lighting fixtures and related products and services, had fiscal year 2009 net sales of over $1.6 billion. The company's portfolio of brands includes Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Peerless, Mark Architectural Lighting, Hydrel, American Electric Lighting, Gotham, Carandini, RELOC, MetalOptics, Antique Street Lamps, Tersen, Synergy Lighting Controls, Sensor Switch, Lighting Control & Design and ROAM. Acuity has approximately 6,000 employees in facilities throughout North America and in Europe and Asia.