GE Intelligent Platforms Division Sold After CEO Departure

General Electric is continuing to sell off various technology assets as the Boston-based company unveiled plans Tuesday to sell its automation Intelligent Platforms division to Emerson Electric. The sale comes just one day after GE ousted CEO John Flannery, who had spent just one year in the position.

GE's Intelligent Platforms division is aimed at driving digital transformation by providing programmable logic controller technology that Emerson, which specializes in industrial automation, plans to leverage to give customers broader control and management of operations.

"Adding GE's Intelligent Platforms business makes Emerson an even stronger player in the automation space and expands our capabilities to serve the needs across process, hybrid and discrete markets," said Emerson CEO David Farr in a statement.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Flannery Monday was replaced by Larry Culp, who led Danaher Corp. for nearly 15 years before joining GE's board of directors in April. The change came amid mounting pressure from investors who were concerned about GE's stock and market capitalization drop during Flannery's short tenure as CEO.

Flannery has sold several GE business units during his one-year tenure, including the $3.25 billion sale of its distributed power business to private equity firm Advent International in June. In April, GE said it was selling part of its health-care technology business to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1 billion.

The company's Intelligent Platforms division has approximately 650 employees with annual sales of $210 million in 2017. The business has a 25-year track record as an industrial automation provider for machine control, industrial computing, networking devices, integration services and other hardware and software solutions.

"Intelligent Platforms brings a solid product portfolio to serve our target markets, along with a significant installed base," said Lal Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson Automation Solutions, in a statement.

Emerson's acquisition expands opportunities in machine control and discrete applications across process industries and target hybrid markets, such as metals and mining, life sciences, food and beverage, and packaging. By integrating GE's Intelligent Platforms technology with Emerson's distributed control systems, customers will be able to connect "islands of automation" within a plant to further enhance operational performance, safety and reliability, said Emerson in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of Emerson's fiscal year 2019.