Schneider Electric acquires SCADAgroup

Schneider Electric has signed an agreement to acquire SCADAgroup, an Australian-based provider of telemetry products and solutions for the water and wastewater, oil and gas, and electric power end-market segments.

Telemetry is a key technology that allows the remote measurement, monitoring, control and data transfer for infrastructures scattered over a wide area or that are hard to access. SCADAgroup has operations throughout North America, the UK and Australia and employs over 500 staff. It is expected to generate revenues in excess of AU$110 million for the current fiscal year ending in June 2010.

The company provides a complete portfolio of products and solutions for telemetry applications including:

• a SCADA software allowing consolidation and monitoring of key information on the process
• communication devices using radio for the transmission of information
• a wide offer of remote terminal units that collect and consolidate information from the field
• wireless sensors to monitor key variables such as flow, temperature and pressure

In addition, the company has strong project execution capabilities and provides its customers with high value-added services which represent an important part of its revenues.

Through this acquisition, Schneider Electric aims to further reinforce its presence in the water, wastewater, and oil and gas segments. With SCADAgroup, it acquires technologies and product offers to be pushed through its channels, and execution and service capabilities that are complementary to its own in these segments.

“Schneider Electric has acquired a global telemetry platform to address the needs of the attractive water, wastewater, and oil and gas industries for which remote monitoring and control are critical to their large and dispersed sites,” said Scott Wooldridge, Vice President, Schneider Electric Australia Industry Business.

“The combination of technologies, channels, customer knowledge and complementary execution capabilities will put us in an excellent position to capture new opportunities in these fast-growing markets.”

The closing of the transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to occur soon. The purchase price of the transaction, expressed as an enterprise value, is AU$200 million. This acquisition should be accretive on earnings per share from year one and meets Schneider Electric’s Return on Capital Employed criteria.