Generac to acquire Tower Light srl

Generac, the US manufacturer of generators and owner of Magnum Products, has agreed to buy Italian lighting tower manufacturer Tower Light Srl for an undisclosed price from majority owner private equity fund Ambienta I.

The deal will give Generac a further outlet for its industrial products outside North America, primarily Europe, and expand its global sales of lighting towers. It already owns Magnum Products, one of the market leading lighting tower suppliers in North America, which it acquired in October 2011.

The Tower Light brand will be retained, as will the current management team, including founder and managing director Andrea Fontanella and the managing director of Tower light’s UK subsidiary, Paul Hay.

Generac, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is a US$1.2 billion company best known in the US for its home standby generators, which account for more than 60% of its revenues. It also makes portable generators for commercial and industrial markets as well as pressure washers for consumer and professional customers.

Its Magnum subsidiary makes lighting towers and road towable generators and in December last year it bought Ottomotore, a generator manufacturer with factories in Mexico and Brazil.

“Tower Light is a great strategic fit for Generac’s business, providing an expanded product offering of light tower generators to support additional geographic markets beyond those we serve today,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and chief executive officer of Generac.

“Acquiring Tower Light positions us as a global leader in light towers, allowing us to participate in the growing rental market for these products outside the US.”

Tower light’s Andrea Fontanella described the deal as a very exciting one for the company, which will open up "many new opportunities and allow us to continue to innovate and further develop the Tower Light product range.

“We are pleased to join the Generac family, and we look forward to our continued success as we work together to execute on potential synergies and drive global growth for mobile power products”.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered outside Milan, Italy, Tower Light is a leading supplier of mobile light towers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has approximately 100 employees and reported sales of €37 million in 2012.