Generac to Acquire Generator Business from Baldor Electric

WAUKESHA, Wis., Oct 07 -- Generac Holdings Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of generators and other engine powered products, announced today the signing of a purchase agreement with Baldor Electric Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABB Group, to acquire substantially all of the assets of Baldor's generator products division.

Located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Baldor Generators offers a complete line of portable, mobile, standby and prime power generators ranging from 3kW to 2.5MW throughout North America. For almost 50 years, Baldor Generators and its predecessors have served the power generation market with a comprehensive, reliable product offering and flexible operating environment.

"Acquiring Baldor Generators is a great strategic fit for Generac's business, providing us immediate access to a larger industrial product line to better support the North American and global power generation markets," said Aaron Jagdfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of Generac. "By offering additional power solutions up to 2.5MW, this acquisition improves our competitive position in the marketplace by increasing the addressable market that our distribution partners can serve."

Jagdfeld continued, "Investing in the Baldor Generator business accelerates our organic efforts to increase our share of the commercial and industrial power generation market while also adding significant production and test capacity for future growth. With our enhanced scale and focus, we believe we can execute on the meaningful revenue and cost synergies that we have identified to date."

Following the close of the transaction, the employees of Baldor Generators will become employees of Generac and the Oshkosh, WI facility will become part of Generac's manufacturing footprint. Although the Baldor brand name is not included past a transitionary period, Generac will continue to support Baldor Generator's existing customers and distribution network going forward. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013, pending standard closing conditions. The terms of the transaction were not announced.

About Generac

Since 1959, Generac has been a leading designer and manufacturer of a wide range of generators and other engine powered products. As a leader in power equipment serving residential, light commercial, industrial and construction markets, Generac's power products are available internationally through a broad network of independent dealers, retailers, wholesalers and equipment rental companies.

About Baldor Electric Company

Baldor Electric Company markets, designs and manufactures industrial electric motors, mechanical power transmission products and drives. Baldor, a member of the ABB Group, is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas.