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April 3, 2000
- For Immediate Release
Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, WA -
Trace Holdings, LLC of Arlington, Washington and Xantrex Technology Inc.
of Burnaby, British Columbia today announced the completion of their merger
effected through an exchange of privately held shares. With combined annual
sales in 1999 of US$105 million (CDN$154 million), the merged company,
to be known as Xantrex Technology Inc., becomes the world's leading supplier
of advanced power electronics technology for commercial, residential,
recreational, as well as distributed and renewable energy markets. Power
electronics are used to supply, control and distribute electrical power.
"The respective strengths in people, technology, manufacturing and markets
make Xantrex and Trace an excellent fit," said Mossadiq S. Umedaly, Xantrex's
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We expect significant operating
and financial synergies that will benefit our customers as well as further
our growth plans. The combined company will have the resources to serve
existing markets and to develop new ones, providing industry-leading products
for a growing number of applications. Combined, we are the one-stop shop
for state-of-the-art power electronics, from 50 watts to over one megawatt,
on a worldwide basis."
In addition to existing markets that are growing rapidly, there are unprecedented
growth opportunities in new markets for advanced power electronics systems.
As the world leader in advanced power electronics, Xantrex's growth strategy
is to capitalize on these key growth drivers:
- The proliferation
of electronic devices, including computers, communication equipment,
and lifestyle products on which society has become increasingly dependent,
require high quality, uninterrupted electricity in the office, home,
and when we are on the move. Power electronics enable reliability and
portability of devices in all these settings.
- Power interruptions
and declining quality of electricity from the grid, occurring globally,
have become intolerable with the pervasive use of electronic devices
in our lives. The need for secure, reliable power, as well as public
policies favoring deregulation and competition among electric utilities,
are stimulating demand for distributed power generators with associated
power electronics systems.
- Technological advances
are transforming solar photovoltaics, windpower, microturbines, fuel
cells, and energy storage devices into clean, reliable and practical
distributed electricity generators. All of these electricity sources
require power electronics and control systems to make usable power.
- Xantrex's advances
in power electronics are resulting in smaller, lighter, higher performance
systems making its products a key enabling technology for portable,
distributed and backup power systems.
"The logic for this
combination of two industry leaders is compelling," said Lawrence D. Gilson,
Chairman of GFI Energy Ventures, a lead Trace investor. "Since our principal
markets are global and require increasingly demanding power solutions,
the enhanced scope of our combined company will be beneficial in customer
sales and service, product development, and engineering."
Subsequent to the merger, Xantrex's shareholders reflect its international
scope - Oaktree Capital Management and GFI Energy Ventures from California;
RIT Capital Partners (Rothschild) from the UK; Ontario Municipal Employees
Retirement System (OMERS), NB Capital Partners (an affiliate of National
Bank of Canada), and Royal Bank Ventures from Ontario; GrowthWorks Capital,
Business Development Bank of Canada, and HSBC Capital from British Columbia;
Chroma ATE from Taiwan; and BHF Bank AG of Germany, as well as Xantrex
and Trace management and employees.
Trace Holdings, through its two operating divisions, Trace Engineering
(Arlington, WA) and Trace Technologies (Livermore, CA), is the world's
leading developer and manufacturer of power electronics, controls and
system packages for residential, commercial and utility scale markets
for solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell, microturbine, and backup power
applications in both grid-connected and stand-alone systems. The power
range of Trace products is from one kilowatt to one megawatt.
Xantrex's power electronics products for commercial, recreational and
consumer markets range from programmable AC/DC power converters for development
and production testing of electronic equipment to DC/AC inverters which
provide auxiliary power systems for heavy duty trucks, cars, fleet and
utility vehicles, boats, and recreational vehicles, as well as portable
units for outdoor and emergency use. The power range of its products is
from 50 watts to six kilowatts.
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