Acuity Brands to spin off cleaning business
(Adds details, dateline)
LOS ANGELES, July 23 (Reuters) - Lighting maker Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI.N) said its board approved the spin-off this fall of its specialty products business into an independent publicly-traded company.
The move will allow both businesses to focus on their distinct growth strategies, Chief Executive Vernon Nagel said in a statement.
Acuity shareholders will receive one share of the new company, which makes cleaning and maintenance products, for every two shares of Acuity held. The new company will have annual sales of about $600 million and will be named at a later date.
Acuity will continue to own its primary lighting business, which has annual sales of about $2 billion, it said. That business will be able to cut $6 million in corporate costs after the spin-off.
John Morgan, who most recently served as head of the company's lighting business, has been named chief executive of Acuity Specialty Products. He replaces William Holl, who will serve as chief commercial officer of the new company.
The new company is expected to pay a dividend of about 16 cents a share and will carry $70 million in debt. It will be headquartered in Atlanta and will be listed on Nasdaq.
Shares of Acuity Brands closed at $63.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Additional reporting by Neha Pathania in Bangalore)
((Reporting by Nichola Groom; Reuters Messaging: nichola.groom.reuters.com@reuters.net, Tel:+1-213-955-6755)) Keywords: ACUITY SPINOFF/
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