General Electric (GE) has completed the sale of its intelligent environments company, Current, powered by GE, to American Industrial Partners (AIP). The deal closed on April 2, 2019, transferring ownership of GE’s energy business unit to the New York-based private equity firm.

“Three and a half years ago, we formed Current as a new kind of startup within the walls of GE, and today we are thrilled to celebrate the successful conclusion of that journey as we prepare to embrace our next,” said Maryrose Sylvester, President & CEO of Current. “American Industrial Partners is an excellent fit for our people and technology. Current has an important role to play in this emerging industry, and we look forward to working with our customers to continue building the future of digital lighting innovation.”

Launched in 2015, Current combines advanced LED technologies, network sensors, and software to provide intelligent and energy efficient LED lighting solutions for commercial buildings, retail stores, industrial facilities, and cities. For example, Current worked with Walmart to install 1.5 million GE LED fixtures across 6,000 of the retailer’s stores and facilities, resulting in more than $100 million in energy savings.

“Our customers who take this LED journey invest in this technology to save energy and see cost reductions of 50 to 80 percent,” said Melissa Wesorick, LED platform leader for Current, in a 2018 company report. “There were years where people were just waiting for LEDs to get better — the time has now come.”

AIP is a private equity firm with a focus on buying, improving, and growing industrial businesses. Since forming in 1989, it has accrued approximately $7 billion of assets across 95 transactions.

GE Lighting’s consumer lighting business in not included in the sale.