| |
|
August 6, 1998
- For Immediate Release
Los Angeles, CA - GFI Energy Ventures LLC today announced
the acquisition of Arlington, Washington-based Trace Engineering and its
affiliate, Trace Technologies Corporation of Livermore, California. The
total value of the transaction is about $64 million. Trace is the leading
provider of electric inverters to the renewable energy industry worldwide
with a market share in excess of 60 percent. GFI Energy Ventures LLC originates
and leads investments in businesses benefitting from and facilitating
the deregulation, competition, and technological change in the energy
industry worldwide.
Energy collected or generated from solar panels, windmills, flywheels,
next-generation batteries, or any other such source is in an imperfect,
irregular, unpredictable form not usable to power electrical devices.
The Trace products perform the crucial task of converting this energy
into a smoother, steadier, usable form. This same need exists whether
the ultimate use of the purified electricity is an isolated site powered
by a stand-alone power source, a recreational vehicle or boat, or a back-up
power supply supporting a facility in an area with unreliable power. This
investment gives GFI the position as a key supplier to all the alternative
energy technologies. While the aggregate electric load served by alternative
energy continues to grow significantly, the future mix of alternate energy
sources is far from clear. Trace's important position with each of the
competing technologies positions the Company and GFI to benefit, irrespective
of which approach(es) ultimately prevail.
In addition to GFI Energy Ventures, the investors in Trace are led by
Oaktree Capital Management (a Los Angeles-based investment firm with over
$10.5 billion under management) and include RIT Capital Partners plc (the
publicly traded, London-based investment company chaired by Lord Rothschild)
and the senior management of both Trace Engineering and Trace Technologies
Corporation.
|
