Genlyte Thomas to Acquire Vari-Lite in Move to Bolster Fixture Offering in Entertainment

Nov. 22, 2002
Genlyte Thomas Group LLC, Louisville, Ky., announced plans to acquire the manufacturing assets, intellectual property and sales division of Vari-Lite

Genlyte Thomas Group LLC, Louisville, Ky., announced plans to acquire the manufacturing assets, intellectual property and sales division of Vari-Lite Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dallas-based Vari-Lite International Inc., a designer and manufacturer of automated lighting equipment for the entertainment industry.

Vari-Lite will sell the unit for $10.5 million to $11.5 million. The purchase price will be finalized within the next 30 days.

Larry Powers, president and CEO of Genlyte Thomas, said the proposed acquisition would enhance the company's entertainment lighting products and controls package, and that Genlyte Thomas plans to integrate Vari-Lite's advanced lighting technologies into its existing products aimed at the commercial markets.

“Vari-Lite products utilize computer control technologies to automate various lighting effects seamlessly,” he said. “Many of these features are protected by more than 50 patents, which we acquired with this purchase.”

Powers added that annual sales volume of Vari-Lite products will be in the range of $25 to $30 million during 2003, but that the newly acquired company has the potential to increase its sales to $50 million in the next three to five years. Genlyte Thomas' total sales in 2001 were $985.3 million.

Rusty Brutsche, chairman and CEO of Vari-Lite International, said his company, which will be renamed VLPS Lighting Services International Inc. in 2003, will benefit from the melding of Genlyte Thomas' manufacturing capacity and its high-tech products. The deal will shift the company's business strictly to lighting systems and services for the entertainment industry, and help clear up some confusion in the lighting business over Vari-Lite's market focus, he said.

“Operating as a manufacturer and a rental company was confusing to the industry, and it limited the growth prospects of VLPS Lighting Services, our rental division. This transaction allows VLPS Lighting Services to operate independently and to focus on its core competency, lighting rental and production services. In order for both divisions to achieve their maximum potential, there had to be a clear separation of the two.”

As a result of this sale, Vari-Lite's lighting services will operate independently and focus on lighting rental and production services.

Genlyte Thomas Group (GTG) is owned jointly by the Genlyte Group Inc., with a 68 percent share, and Thomas Industries Inc. with a 32 percent share. GTG products are sold under the brand names of Capri, Chloride Systems, Crescent, Day-Brite, Gardco, Hadco, Ledalite, Lightolier, Lightolier Controls, Lumec, Stonco, Thomas, Translite Sonoma, and Wide-Lite in the United States and Canlyte and Thomas in Canada.