Management AdvisoryCompany SalesCompany Acquisitions

Momentum advises the shareholders of Pharos Architectural Controls on its sale to ETC

Deal Overview

  • Lead advisor
  • Strategic acquirer
  • Cross-border

Momentum Corporate Finance LLP (“Momentum”) is pleased to announce its latest transaction, having advised the shareholders of Pharos Architectural Controls, an award-winning global provider of dynamic lighting control solutions, on its sale to longtime collaborator ETC, a leading US-headquartered global provider in entertainment and architectural lighting technology.

Pharos is a UK-based leader in dynamic lighting control solutions for architectural and entertainment applications. The business develops proprietary hardware and software platforms that enable the delivery of complex large-scale and technically demanding lighting installations worldwide, and is recognised for its reliability, flexibility and technical excellence.

Pharos has delivered some of the highest-profile global lighting projects, including One World Trade Center and Niagara Falls, and serves a diversified international customer base across architecture, themed entertainment and commercial environments.

This transaction builds on more than two decades of partnership between ETC and Pharos, whose 21-year history of innovation, reliability, and customer-first service has played a central role in the evolution of ETC’s architectural product line.

Pharos’ extensive market presence and robust sales network across EMEA and APAC will support ETC’s continued international growth ambitions, while the highly respected Pharos brand provides a complementary platform to accelerate growth and broaden market reach.

ETC’s CEO Dick Titus said, “We look forward to growing our long-standing partnership with Pharos. Their in-house development team continues to push the boundaries of dynamic lighting control, and their work will further strengthen ETC’s offerings in the global architectural lighting market.”

Simon Hicks, Pharos CEO, said, “This is an exciting new chapter for Pharos and a fantastic opportunity for the team and our product. ETC provides a long-term home for the company, ensuring continuity of service for our customers, and we can now tap into a wealth of resources to help us accelerate our ambitious product development roadmap.”

Momentum Corporate Finance acted as lead advisor to the shareholders of Pharos, with Osborne Clarke LLP providing legal advice.

Completing the sale of Pharos marks an important milestone for the company, and also for the founders who established the business over 20 years ago.  We are delighted Pharos has found a new home in its longstanding customer, ETC, and Momentum played a pivotal role in helping us get there. They brought an exceptional blend of technical expertise and commercial understanding, ensuring we were making well informed decisions throughout. Just as importantly, there was a great cultural fit between us and their team, making the process a genuine pleasure. We’re grateful for their support, commitment and drive in securing a successful transaction.

Richard Mead, Co-founder and Chair at Pharos

This cross-border transaction highlights the strong appetite from high-quality international acquirers for differentiated, UK-based technology businesses. Pharos’ reputation for innovation, reliability and deep customer relationships made it a compelling strategic opportunity for ETC. With over 50% of Momentum’s transactions involving overseas counterparts, we continue to see robust global interest in cutting-edge UK companies, and we look forward to seeing Pharos scale further with ETC’s support.

Alastair Boorman, Partner at Momentum

It has been a pleasure to work with the Pharos shareholders and management team on this transaction. This combination with ETC represents an exciting new chapter for the business, and we believe ETC is the right long-term home to support Pharos’ ambition, culture and innovative product roadmap. We’re delighted to have helped deliver an outcome that positions the business for continued success on the global stage.

Richard Double, Director at Momentum

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