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May 28, 2020 - Economy

GE sheds light bulb unit founded by Thomas Edison

headshot
A photo of scissors cutting a light bulb.

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

General Electric (NYSE: GE) agreed to sell its lighting business to Savant Systems, a Hyannis, Mass.-based smart home management company backed by KKR.

Why it matters: This cuts GE's last product ties to Thomas Edison.

  • No terms were disclosed, but the WSJ puts the price tag at around $250 million (including assumed liabilities).
  • That's only half of what GE hoped to get when it first decided to divest in 2017.

The bottom line: GE is no longer in the consumer products business, although Savant plans to maintain the GE bulb branding via a long-term licensing agreement. As for what's next, GE could become the global leader in giant robot worms.

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