February 2, 2026
ETC Acquires Pharos to Bolster Architectural Offering
Two-decade partnership evolves into strategic controls acquisition
If there are 30 shows running on Broadway this week, a safe bet is that at least 29 of them are using ETC controls. The Wisconsin-based company has spent five decades building its reputation on reliability, precision, and dominance in theatrical lighting. But with its latest move — acquiring UK-based Pharos Architectural Controls — ETC is aiming for more than the stage.
Pharos isn’t new to ETC. For over 20 years, the two companies have partnered closely, with Pharos serving as the engineering force behind ETC’s Mosaic line. Now, that collaboration becomes formalized under an acquisition that folds Pharos into ETC’s growing architectural ambitions while allowing the UK company to continue operating independently.
Deeper Roots in Europe, More Muscle in the U.S.
December 2025: ETC exhibits at LDI Show in Las Vegas
The move gives ETC more than just tighter control over a known partner. Pharos brings an established presence across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific — regions where ETC has reach, but not always architectural depth. While ETC already has 24 dealers in the UK alone, acquiring Pharos anchors it more directly in the European market, where local relationships and longstanding specifications matter.
At the same time, Pharos’ advanced product line — centered around its LPC and VLC controllers and Designer software — has long been respected for its ability to manage dynamic, pixel-based architectural lighting installations. The technology has seen use in everything from interactive urban façades to immersive theme park environments. But in North America, Pharos has operated more quietly. Now, with ETC’s North American resources behind it, that could change.
Strategic Alignment Without Absorption
For ETC, this is less about brand expansion and more about system leverage. The company already offers a broad portfolio across entertainment and architectural categories, but as building owners and designers increasingly seek unified control systems, having full-stack architectural solutions under one roof matters. Bringing Pharos closer enables ETC to offer integrated control pathways for projects that blend performance lighting with architectural intent — think airports, museums, mixed-use developments.
Notably, Pharos will continue to maintain its own sales and support channels, and its leadership stays in place. That autonomy suggests ETC values the pace and specificity of Pharos’ development cycle — its ability to move nimbly in response to evolving design needs, without being pulled into ETC’s larger, more theatrical orbit.
Above: ETC's Lowel Olcott explains ETC's architectural controls strategy at Lightfair 2025
Strategically, it’s a low-drama acquisition, but one with long-term implications. ETC now holds more of its own architectural supply chain, both technically and geographically. And while it won’t make headlines outside the trade, specifiers and integrators may soon find themselves encountering Pharos products more often — especially as ETC begins to fold them into its North American toolkit.
Just as ETC cemented itself as the backstage standard for live performance, it continues to make a disciplined, deliberate play for front-of-house architecture.
