Arkados Group Inc., a software developer and system integrator enabling Internet of Things (IoT) applications for commercial and industrial customers, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of SolBright Renewable Energy LLC, a solar energy design and development company based in Charleston, S.C.
SolBright Renewable Energy is a provider of turnkey development, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the commercial/industrial and military solar photovoltaic markets. Arkados says it will pay $15 million in a combination of cash, debt and stock for substantially 100% of the assets of SolBright, including a current backlog of approximately $40 million in distributed generation EPC projects and a large pipeline of additional projects throughout the eastern U.S.
Arkados says this transaction can allow the company to significantly expand its Arkados Energy Solutions business into the rapidly growing renewable energy industry and open many new customer opportunities for its IoT solutions.
“The SolBright team has built a great renewable energy business by delivering superior service to Fortune 500 and other commercial, industrial and military customers,” says Terrence DeFranco, CEO of Arkados Group Inc. “This acquisition allows us to greatly scale and diversify our services business, add significant current and future revenues and cashflows, and expand the penetration of our smart building solutions based on our Arktic software platform into a blue-chip customer base. The solar market is poised for explosive growth over the next five years and beyond, and this combination positions Arkados to capitalize on the tremendous growth in renewables and the Internet of Things.”
“We are very excited about the merger of our business with Arkados,” states Patrick Hassell, managing director of SolBright Renewable Energy. “We have worked hard over the past eight years growing our business and believe that the combination of our services with the robust technology solutions of Arkados will give us an edge in further differentiating ourselves as this tremendous market evolves. We believe there is great demand for digital solutions in the renewables industry and are impressed with the advantages that our customers can gain from Arkados’ technology solutions.”
The acquisition deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is anticipated to close by March 31.
