Carlyle-Backed General Lighting Company (GLC) Signs Purchase Agreement to Acquire Davex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., The Largest Lighting Fixture Manufacturer in Malaysia

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - General Lighting Company (GLC), the leading lighting fixtures company operating in the Middle East and Africa, today announced its intention to acquire 100% of Davex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia’s largest lighting fixtures manufacturer and supplier, from Davex Holding Berhad, a wholly owned subsidiary of MWE Holdings Berhad (MWE), for a consideration of Malaysian Ringgits 183 million (app. USD 60 million). The contract documents were signed on September 20, 2012. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year and is subject to a vote of confidence by the shareholders of MWE.

Speaking on the acquisition, Eng. Abdullah Al-Hobayb, Chairman of GLC, said, “This an important step in GLC’s strategy to target the world’s fastest growing economies. Davex brings several attractive markets to the GLC family including Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.”

Eng. Fahad Al-Hobayb, CEO of GLC, said, “The acquisition of Davex comes as a perfect complement to GLC’s product offering, fitting with the requirements of our core Middle East and Africa markets. Also, a number of opportunities exist to extract synergies from the combination of our two organizations.”

Established in 1983, Davex is a renowned name in manufacturing high quality indoor lighting fixtures and LED fixtures. It has undertaken a number of prestigious projects in South East Asia including the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, Singapore’s Changi Airport, and John Curtis Medical School in Australia. Davex has fully-owned sales and marketing subsidiaries in Singapore, Australia and Vietnam, with more than 300 employees throughout its locations. More information about Davex can be found at www.davislighting.com.

GLC’s investment in Davex underlines the company’s commitment of growing into one of the largest lighting fixtures manufacturers in developing markets. In addition to its operations in Egypt and the UAE, GLC has recently established offices in Morocco (2011), and  South Africa (2012). GLC offers its products to 9 countries in the Middle East and 13 countries in Africa.

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About General Lighting Company
General Lighting Company (GLC) manufactures a wide range of indoor, outdoor, and industrial lighting products from four production plants with a total capacity of 15 million units/year. In addition, GLC represents leading international lighting brands, and provides complete lighting solutions to its clients. GLC is a leader in the lighting industry in the Middle East and Africa supplying products to institutions in the private as well as the public sectors.

About MWE Holdins Berhad
MWE Holdings Berhad (MWE) was incorporated in the Federation of Malaya under the Companies Ordinance 1940 – 1946 as a public limited company under the name of Malaysia Weaving Printing Dyeing Factory Limited on 2 December 1964. On 26 July 1973, the Company changes its name to Malaysia Weaving Enterprise Berhad. The Company assumed its present name on 15 May 1979. The Company was listed on the Main Board of the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on 27 June 1974. MWE is an investment holding company. The principal activities of the subsidiary companies consist of manufacturing and sale of electronic products, property investment and development, building construction, contract works, rental of properties, investment holding, manufacturing and sale of garments, provision of secretarial, share registration, management, insurance agency and nominee services, management of golf course and clubhouse, provision of property management services,  provision of air and sea freight forwarding services and manage and operate oil palm plantation.  www.mweh.com.my

About Carlyle MENA
Carlyle MENA Partners has offices in Dubai and Istanbul and manages the Carlyle MENA Fund which closed in 2009.  The fund was established to invest in dynamic, growing companies based in Turkey, North Africa, and the Gulf Cooperation Council region.  The Carlyle MENA fund currently has six companies within its portfolio, including GLC, in which the Carlyle Group acquired a 30% stake in March 2010.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $156 billion of assets under management in 99 funds and 63 fund of fund vehicles as of June 30, 2012. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Fund of Funds Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,300 people in 32 offices across six continents. www.carlyle.com

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