A North Carolina company’s buyout of Stamford commercial-lighting maker Solais has generated a 70 percent return on the 17-month-old, million-dollar investment from Connecticut’s quasi-public technology promoter, authorities say.
PowerSecure International Inc., of Wake Forest, N.C., paid about $15 million for Solais, a Stamford maker of LED lighting fixtures and lamps for retail displays and offices.
Connecticut Innovations Inc. said Wednesday its $1 million initial Solais investment in November 2011, plus a $116,000 follow-on stake two months later, translated to $765,000 in cash and $935,000 of PowerSecure stock from the merger.
In total, PowerSecure said it paid Solais stockholders $6.5 million in cash, plus 675,160 shares of PowerSecure common and other consideration, worth $12.22 a share.
PowerSecure spokesman John Bluth said Wednesday Solais’ operations and 10 workers will stay in Connecticut.
