News
Generac Holdings to acquire Toronto-based ecobee

Generac Holdings Inc. a designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions and other power products, announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the shares of ecobee Inc. in a transaction valued up to US$770 million contingent on the achievement of certain performance targets.

Toronto-based ecobee was founded in 2007 and employs more than 500 people globally. The company is a provider of home monitoring products including smart thermostats. According to the company, the two-million-plus homes it serves in North America have saved more than 20 TWh of energy, the equivalent energy to take all the homes in Los Angeles off the grid for a year.

“ecobee’s solutions are an important addition to Generac’s extensive residential energy technology portfolio,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and chief executive officer of Generac, in a statement. “Residential HVAC systems represent the largest energy-consuming device in the home today and ecobee’s smart thermostats and sensors offer the most intelligent way to balance comfort with conservation. In addition, the ability to combine ecobee’s cutting-edge technologies with Generac’s power generation, energy storage and energy management devices will allow us to create a clean, efficient, and reliable home energy ecosystem that will not only save homeowners money, but also help grid operators meet the challenges of an electrical grid under enormous stress by providing solutions to better balance supply and demand.”

“Generac’s evolution into an energy technology solutions company creates many opportunities to integrate our ecobee products with their residential device offerings, enabling direct monitoring and control of a significant portion of the home’s electrical load,” added Stuart Lombard, founder and chief executive officer of ecobee. “We are excited to join the Generac team so together we can deliver a cleaner, more resilient and sustainable energy future for our customers and communities.”

At closing, Generac will pay US$200 million in cash along with US$450 million in GNRC common stock to the current equity holders of ecobee. Additionally, upon achievement of certain performance targets between closing and June 30, 2023, the sellers may receive up to US$120 million in additional shares of GNRC common stock.

The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.