Isra-Mart srl : Toshiba to acquire Landis+Gyr in $2.3bn smart meter mega-deal

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Isra-Mart news:

Toshiba has won the auction for smart meter giant Landis+Gyr, having announced this morning that it has agreed to acquire the Swiss firm in a deal worth $2.3bn.

The cash and assumed debt deal, which is being hailed as one of the largest clean tech acquisitions of the year, is subject to regulatory approval, but is widely expected to close during the third quarter of the year.

Toshiba said the acquisition would help establish the engineering and electronics conglomerate as the "the world's smart grid leader", providing it with access to Landis+Gyr's 8,000 utility customers and giving it an established presence in a smart grid market that the company believes could grow six-fold over the next decade.

"Our intent is to become a global leader in the Smart Community business by 2020," said Hideo Kitamura, Toshiba's corporate executive vice president, in a statement. "Together with Landis+Gyr, we will accelerate the development of our combined product and service portfolio to empower utilities and their end customers and to provide sophisticated Smart Community solutions in the global market."

The company added that "there are no plans for job reduction or restructuring as a result of this transaction".

Landis+Gyr chief executive Andreas Umbach said that the two companies would be able to offer a complementary offering to customers, noting that the deal will provide the smart meter firm with the resources needed to accelerate its product offerings.

Toshiba is believed to have beaten a host of engineering and private equity firms in a private auction to acquire Landis+Gyr.

According to reports based on anonymous sources, GE, Honeywell International and ABB all expressed an interest in acquiring the firm.