Initial Impressions – By Chuck Newton
Overall, given the first impression of this prospective corporate marriage, I think that the proposed acquisition of Telvent by Schneider rivals the importance of ABB’s acquisition of Ventyx. In some ways it overshadows that 2010 event. Here’s why:
Schneider is a very large (about $30 billion USD) French-based global corporation headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, a near-in suburb located just to the west of Paris. The company has recently grown fairly well organically and with a number of strategically well-thought-out acquisitions, including the very visible “AREVA D”, Areva’s medium voltage equipment and systems business, which acquisition was finalized in mid-2010. That acquisition provided the basis for Schneider’s formation of a fifth business sector – “Energy”, reported separately as a line of business for the first time in the company’s 2010 annual report.
However, the Areva D buy-in was just one more drop (albeit a large drop) in the growing bucket of acquisitions recently completed by Schneider Electric. During the past 24 months, the company has acquired the Persian Gulf’s CIMAC (an industrial systems integrator), the SCADAgroup (Australian control systems supplier), Electroshield-TM Samara, (Russia’s largest producer of MV electrical equipment), Conzerve (India-based supplier of industrial energy management schemes) and Microsol Tecnologia (Brazilian supplier of power conditioning equipment); Uniflair SpA, (Italian manufacturer of precision cooling equipment). Schneider further strengthened its hand in building automation and energy efficiency systems with its acquisitions of two French firms, Vizelia (energy management software for commercial buildings) and D5X, specializing in space utilization of commercial buildings.
To continue reading this article in its entirety, jump to Chuck’s Composite page: http://www.newton-evans.com/?page_id=799
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