Saratoga Partners, an alternative asset manager headquartered in New York City, today announced it has acquired the Xenon cinema business from Philips Lighting, (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting. The business, to be named Lighting Technologies International LLC (LTI), is a major manufacturer of xenon arc lamps for digital cinema projectors used in the worldwide cinema exhibition industry. LTI has approximately 220 employees located primarily in Baldwin Park, California, near Los Angeles. The LTI management team and all employees have transitioned over to the new operating unit.
As part of the transaction, Philips Lighting has granted LTI a license enabling the new entity to continue to produce and sell xenon lamps under the Philips brand worldwide. Philips Lighting, which focuses on further strengthening its global leadership in connected LED lighting products, systems and services, will continue to provide lighting applications and systems to cinemas and theatres and remains committed to LED-based projection lamp innovations.
The LTI operation was started in 1999 and has captured a significant share of the global cinema xenon lamp market. This transaction returns LTI to its independent, entrepreneurial roots, after the business was acquired in 2007 by Philips.
“We see substantial growth opportunities in the cinema and other specialty lighting markets, and we look forward to working with management to build the business,” said Christian L. Oberbeck, Managing Director of Saratoga Partners. “We believe that we are well positioned to acquire and grow LTI as a stand-alone entity building on our history of successful acquisitions in the lighting space, track record of growing revenues and improving profitability of our lighting businesses, and long history and success in acquiring and building similarly sized companies.”
About Saratoga Partners
Saratoga Partners (“Saratoga“) is a New York based manager of equity and debt-focused investment funds. Since 1984, Saratoga’sequity investment funds have acquired or invested in 35 portfolio companies with aggregate enterprise valuations approximating $3.7 billion in the manufacturing and business-services industries. Through Saratoga Investment Advisors, Saratoga also manages Saratoga Investment Corp., a NYSE (SAR) traded Business Development Company with current portfolio investments in some 30 companies.