In 2017, the Smart Grids sector continued to consolidate, with the acquisitions of Meter Italia by Sagemcom, IQP Technologie by GE Digital, Milestone by Legrand, Silver Spring Networks by Itron, GreenFlex by Total, Aveva by Schneider Electrics and Keymile by ABB.
Stock exchange light panel in Time Square, New York – Photo credit: Samuel Huron en CC
July
At the end of July 2017, Schneider Electric announced the signature of an agreement to acquire American company Asco Power Technologies (1.25 billion dollars or 1.07 billion euros). The Baltimore-based company is presented by Schneider Electric as the “market leader” in power management for critical buildings (hospitals, financial services) in North America.
At the end of July, Sagemcom announced the acquisition of Meter Italia, a major player in gas metering in Italy. Sagemcom thus strengthens its positions in the multi-energy metering market with the acquisition of Meter Italia S.P.A. Meter Italia thus joins the Sagemcom group and becomes Sagemcom Italia S.P.A.
General Electric Digital completes the acquisition of IQP Corporation. GE Digital will integrate the IQP application development environment into its Predix platform for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IQP, has an integrated workflow for rapid application development. It allows people who aren’t developers to create their own IoT applications. IQP Corporation was selected for the Predix Startup Accelerator program in 2016.
At the end of July 2017, Schneider Electric announced the signature of an agreement to acquire American company Asco Power Technologies (1.25 billion dollars or 1.07 billion euros).
August
Canadian intelligent network solutions provider Tantalus Systems finalises the acquisition of Energate, a company specializing in demand response solutions. This acquisition expands Tantalus’ portfolio of smart grid applications. Tantalus also announced solutions for 130 network managers in North America and the Caribbean Basin.
Legrand concludes the acquisition of Milestone AV Technologies, a leading player in Audio-Video (AV) power and infrastructure. Milestone’s positions complement those already held by the group with the Middle Atlantic Products brand. Headquartered at Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Milestone has 2016 sales of $464 million and approximately 1,000 employees.
Tantalus also announced solutions for 130 network managers in North America and the Caribbean.
September
Another merger in sight on the Smart Grids market: Itron, the American specialist in energy tracking equipment, will acquire Silver Spring Networks, supplier of IoT networks dedicated to Smart Grids and the smart city. According to Reuters, the $830 million financial agreement is based on the buying back of Silver Spring Networks shares.
The Total Group strengthens its position in the energy efficiency market with the acquisition of GreenFlex. With the GreenFlex company, created in 2009, Total wants to develop integrated solutions, from defining needs and financing solutions to analyzing environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.
After two unsuccessful attempts, in 2015 and 2016, Schneider Electric finally reached an agreement to acquire 60% of the capital of British software publisher Aveva, a stake valued at £1.7 billion (€1.8 billion). This merger “between Aveva and Schneider Electric’s industrial software activities creates a world leader in the industrial and engineering software sector,” emphasizes Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO of Schneider Electric. For Schneider, this is the second major acquisition in a few months after Asco Power Technologies.
The Swiss ABB will strengthen its portfolio in the field of communication networks with the acquisition of the German company Keymile.
Keymile, founded in 2002 following the merger of three technology companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, employs 350 people and is present in 100 countries. It offers its services to energy distribution system operators and operators of railways, oil and gas pipelines. 120 Keymile employees will join the Grid Automation department of ABB’s Power Grids division.
With the GreenFlex company, created in 2009, Total wants to develop integrated solutions, from defining needs and financing solutions to analyzing environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions.
ITEMS International for Think Smartgrids