01/04/23

CORE Industrial Partners Portfolio Company Saylite Acquires Vantage Lighting

CORE Industrial Partners (“CORE”), a manufacturing, industrial technology, and industrial services-focused private equity firm, announced today the acquisition of Vantage Lighting (“Vantage” or “the Company”), a manufacturer of specification-grade LED lighting products, by CORE portfolio company Saylite.

Vantage Lighting is a manufacturer of specification-grade LED recessed downlights, cylinders and high bays. The Company serves a diverse set of end markets, including healthcare, education, hospitality, government, and commercial real estate. Vantage offers a complete line of American-made (BAA Compliant), energy-efficient new construction and remodel luminaires. Using domestic, precision manufacturing technologies, Vantage designs and builds its innovative lighting solutions in East Providence, Rhode Island. Vantage offers a “Velocity” program, a quick-ship program that brings the most popular Vantage Lighting LED luminaires to job sites in a matter of days. Vantage also provides a differentiated suite of lighting products designed to meet visual, biophilic and circadian lighting needs in healthcare environments. The vHealth® lighting family offers a wide range of healthcare lighting features, including anti-microbial finishes, BioSync® tunable lighting, and behavioral health and MRI lighting fixtures.

Saylite’s acquisition of Vantage combines Saylite’s portfolio of linear products with Vantage’s downlighting, cylinder and high bays. This provides customers with a stronger and broader package of lighting solutions. In particular, the combination will further expand Vantage’s vHealth® healthcare lighting offering, enabling Vantage to bring a full suite of healthcare lighting products to its medical customers. Vantage also bolsters Saylite’s domestic manufacturing capabilities for Buy American requirements.

Steve Kaufman, CEO of Vantage, said, “Our new partners bring a lot of value. CORE has deep operational and financial expertise and is highly committed to our growth strategy. Saylite brings a rich history in linear lighting, strong manufacturing capabilities and significant scale. We are excited to join with them to serve our customers with a broader product portfolio.”

Chris Armstrong, CEO of Saylite, said, “We are extremely excited to have the Vantage team, product, manufacturing, and service offering join the Saylite family. Vantage and Saylite’s customers will continue to be served through each brand’s existing customer service team, as they have previously, but now with the capability to bring a broader product and service offering.”

Frank Papa, a Senior Partner at CORE, added, “Vantage’s downlighting portfolio is highly complementary, with no product overlap, to Saylite’s existing suite of lighting products. We are excited to provide our existing customers with a broader offering of products and services.”

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP provided legal representation to CORE and Gennari Aronson, LLP represented Vantage in the transaction. Merrimack Group acted as the M&A advisor to Vantage. The deal was completed at the end of 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ABOUT VANTAGE LIGHTING:
Vantage Lighting is a manufacturer of specification-grade LED recessed downlights, cylinders and low/high bays for commercial, institutional and residential applications. Vantage offers a complete line of American-made (BAA Compliant), energy-efficient new construction and remodel luminaires with multiple control options, aperture sizes, aesthetic styles, mounting types, light distributions, and lumen packages. For more information, visit www.vantageltg.com.

ABOUT SAYLITE:
Saylite is a full-service provider of LED and non-LED configured lighting products and solutions serving commercial, industrial, and premium residential markets. Based in Carrollton, Texas, with additional facilities in Dallas, Austin, Houston, Augusta, and Charleston, the company is developing the latest solutions for both practical and design-centric applications employing an engineering staff that bridges the worlds of lighting, construction, design and technology. Saylite’s brands (Fleco Industries, Texas Fluorescents Reinvented, Mobern, Lights Fantastic, Lights Fantastic Pro, L.I.T.E., and LFP Lighting) and products can be found illuminating a diverse building set including large retailers, commercial office space, industrial warehouses and a variety of premium residential structures. For more information, visit www.saylite.com.

ABOUT CORE INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS:
CORE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm with $700 million of capital commitments investing in North American lower middle-market manufacturing, industrial technology, and industrial services businesses. CORE’s team is comprised of highly experienced former CEOs and investment professionals with shared beliefs, deep experience, and a demonstrated track record of building market-leading businesses. Through our capital, insight, and operational expertise, CORE partners with management teams and strives to build best-in-class companies. For more information, visit www.coreipfund.com.

Transaction

John May

Managing Partner

312-566-4882

Matt Puglisi

Partner

312-566-4885

Media

Jeremy Milner

BackBay Communications

(401) 862-9422

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