Investment firm Platinum Equity has acquired Emerson Network Power in a $4bn-plus deal that sees the appointment of Rob Johnson as CEO and the start of a campaign to rebrand as Vertiv.
The Ohio-based company has more than 20,000 employees and over 25 manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide.
Johnson moves from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where he was an operating partner. He also spent 10 years at American Power Conversion (APC) and was President and CEO when the company sold to Schneider Electric for $6.1n in 2007.
Bryan Kelln, Partner and President of Portfolio Operations at Platinum Equity, said: "Rob has a blend of industry knowledge, operational acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.
"This is a transformational opportunity for the company and we believe Rob is the right leader to grow the business as we establish a culture focused on speed, innovation and customer service."
In 1989 Johnson founded Systems Enhancement Corporation (SEC), a company that created software and hardware solutions for the UPS industry. He sold the company to APC in 1997.
Commenting on the transition to new ownership Johnson said: "It's a fresh start for a business that already has much going for it. "As an independent company, Vertiv will operate with great freedom to make business strategy and investment decisions, move more quickly like a start-up and focus on innovative solutions for our customers, including those in the growing cloud computing, mobile and IoT networks."
In November 2013 Platinum Equity acquired a controlling stake in Emerson's embedded computing and power business, which was later rebranded Artesyn Embedded Technologies.