CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS PLC
CALEDONIA PRIVATE CAPITAL SELLS DSE
Caledonia Investments plc (“Caledonia”) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Deep Sea Electronics (“DSE”), a leading provider of backup power control systems, has been acquired by Generac Holdings Inc. (“Generac”). Generac is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: GNRC) and is a leading global designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions and other power products.
DSE was acquired by Caledonia in October 2018 and has grown strongly since then. It has secured a larger share of core target markets having developed and launched power control products in load-sharing and synchronisation; successfully captured adjacent market opportunities with new products in off-highway control; and is addressing the control needs of a growing number of customers seeking distributed power solutions enabled with intelligence and data capture. Throughout the partnership with Caledonia, DSE has been led by Chief Executive David Thomson who will retain overall responsibility for DSE following the sale, under the direction of Patrick Forsythe, Generac's Chief Technical Officer.
Caledonia will receive net proceeds of c.£242.2m in cash, net of fees, for the sale of its 84.2% fully diluted stake. The cash proceeds will be held on deposit for future investment. DSE was held in Caledonia's audited accounts as at 31 March 2021 at £193.0m.
Commenting on the sale, Duncan Johnson, Caledonia's Head of Private Capital, said:
“Caledonia's Private Capital strategy is to invest in leading UK businesses with high quality management teams, and DSE and Dave Thomson have embodied this. We are delighted with what DSE has achieved under our ownership, having encouraged focused investment in both short- and long-term growth initiatives, whilst maintaining strong alignment with Dave and his team. We thank and congratulate Dave and the DSE team for their stewardship of DSE during our partnership and wish them all every success under their new ownership.”
David Thomson, Chief Executive of DSE, commented:
“Caledonia has been a fantastic partner both for me and for DSE, providing board level support, long-term thinking and constructive challenge over the past two and a half years. Caledonia has helped me to lay the foundations for DSE's future growth by strengthening my team, supporting investments in new products and channels to market, and positioning DSE strategically for emerging opportunities in renewable/ distributed power and microgrid generation. We have forged ahead despite the Covid-19 pandemic and I am incredibly excited about a new era of partnership with Generac.”