February 24, 2026
Functional Devices Jumps from One PE Firm to Another
L Squared Capital Partners acquires relay and controls manufacturer
Functional Devices has moved from one private equity owner to another. Shorehill Capital, which acquired the Indiana-based building automation manufacturer in 2019, has exited. L Squared Capital Partners has stepped in. Terms were not disclosed .
Management remains in place. The brand remains intact. The company will continue operating under the same leadership and identity, according to the announcement . There is no merger with a strategic buyer, no rebranding, no operational reset. This is financial ownership changing hands.
At a high level, it is a classic sponsor-to-sponsor transaction in a durable industrial niche.
The Seven Year Hold
Shorehill’s investment began in 2019. Over roughly seven years, the firm supported leadership investments, accelerated new product development, and strengthened operational performance, according to the release . That arc is familiar in middle-market private equity: professionalize, grow, improve margins, exit.
Functional Devices is best known for its product portfolio that includes relays, power supplies, current sensors, and lighting controls. The company’s install base stretches beyond lighting into HVAC applications and broader building automation systems, where its components sit inside panels and control sequences that keep facilities running. These products show up in commercial buildings, healthcare facilities, data centers, and institutional projects.
The go-to-market model for its lighting controls business remains rooted in the C&I lighting agent channel across the United States and Canadas. That channel continuity matters. For agents and specifiers, nothing in the announcement signals disruption.
What The Buyer Said
L Squared described building automation as a “highly fragmented landscape of mission-critical businesses” and stated that it intends to pursue additional acquisitions in field devices for building automation and controls . The firm framed the investment as support for long-term growth, people, and product development.
Beyond that, the press release offers few specifics. No purchase price. No valuation. No discussion of capital structure. The transaction marks the end of one private equity ownership cycle and the beginning of another.
For the lighting and controls industry, the immediate facts are straightforward. A manufacturer of relays, power supplies, current sensors, and lighting controls has transitioned from one financial sponsor to another. Leadership stays. The product lineup stays. The C&I Lighting agent channel remains the route to market. The rest, for now, remains inside the deal room.
