WILTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2005--GE Infrastructure, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Edwards Systems Technology (EST), the fire detection systems business of SPX Corporation (NYSE: SPW).
"GE Infrastructure is rapidly becoming the premier security provider and acquiring Edwards positions us as a leader in the $5 billion fire detection and life safety segment," said Bill Woodburn, President and CEO of GE Infrastructure. "By combining Edwards' technology and channel strength with the broader Security offering of GE, we can now offer an integrated facility management solution. We see significant revenue and cost synergies with this combination, and expect the acquisition to be accretive to GE's 2005 earnings."
According to Ken Boyda, President & CEO of GE Infrastructure's Security business, "We're seeing a convergence of technologies in the security arena, and a strong fire & life safety business is key to presenting an integrated facility management solution. Since fire detection systems are the only universally mandated security technology, there is significant opportunity for us to grow sales in complementary areas like access control, video surveillance and related services for commercial and large scale infrastructure projects."
The business will become a part of GE Infrastructure, Security's Engineered Systems business.
About GE Infrastructure
GE Infrastructure, headquartered in Wilton, Conn., is a high-technology platform, comprised of some of GE's fastest-growing businesses, including the Security and Water & Process Technologies platforms. These global businesses offer a set of infrastructure protection and productivity solutions to some of the most pressing issues that industries face. Learn more at www.geinfrastructure.com. For more information about GE's Security business and our product offerings, please visit www.gesecurity.com.
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