Acuity Brands Announces Acquisition of Lighting Control & Design

ATLANTA--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) today announced it has acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities of California based Lighting Control & Design, Inc. (LC&D), a manufacturer of comprehensive digital lighting controls and software. LC&D offers a wide-breadth of products and services, ranging from lighting dimming and building interfaces to digital thermostats, all within a single, scalable system for numerous applications, including commercial and institutional buildings.

"Lighting controls are an important part of our growth strategy, and this acquisition will enable us to accelerate the introduction of innovative and energy-efficient products and services, as well as expand our presence in this market," said Vernon J. Nagel, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Brands. The combination of LC&D's extensive product offering and talented organization with our lighting and lighting control teams will create one of the leading lighting controls and energy management companies in this growing and dynamic industry. This complementary acquisition will allow us to deliver greater value to an expanding base of customers as we bring superior solutions to those who demand quality lighting and energy savings, while seeking to reduce their impact on the environment," Nagel said.

LC&D, with 2008 annual sales of approximately $20 million, is a premier provider of daylight harvesting and distributed lighting control solutions. The scalability of LC&D's products, coupled with a strong support team, offers customers superior lighting control solutions for any sized application throughout the United States.

David Wilson, President and founder of LC&D, added "Our team is extremely pleased to join the Acuity Brands Lighting family, the acknowledged leader in the lighting industry in North America. Because of the complementary nature of our two companies, this combination provides a great opportunity to realize meaningful growth by offering a broader array of innovative energy-efficient products and services to our customers."

Acuity Brands, Inc. owns and operates Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. and Acuity Brands Technology Services, Inc. With fiscal year 2008 net sales of approximately $2.0 billion, Acuity Brands Lighting and Acuity Brands Technology Services combined are one of the world's leading providers of lighting fixtures and related products and services and include brands such as Lithonia Lighting®, Holophane®, Peerless®, Mark Architectural Lighting™, Hydrel®, American Electric Lighting®, Gotham®, Carandini®, SpecLight®, MetalOptics®, Antique Street Lamps™, Synergy® Lighting Controls, SAERIS™, and ROAM®. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Acuity Brands employs approximately 6,200 associates and has operations throughout North America and in Europe and Asia.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements that may be considered forward-looking include statements incorporating terms such as "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," "anticipates," "may," and similar terms that relate to future events, performance, or results of Acuity Brands. Specific forward-looking statements made in this press release include the acceleration of the introduction of innovative and energy-efficient products and services and the expansion of the Company's presence in the lighting controls market. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations or projections expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, customer and supplier relationships and prices; competition; market demand; and economic, political, governmental, and technological factors. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and management undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of them in light of new information or future events.

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