Toshiba in Discussions to Buy Landis & Gyr
BY CHRIS V. NICHOLSON
Toshiba is in advanced talks on a deal worth more than $2 billion to acquire Landis & Gyr, a Swiss smart-metering company, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
With an acquisition, Toshiba would add a technology that helps utilities and consumers monitor energy use to its so-called smart community division, which aims to help cities become more energy efficient.
It is also a fresh sign that Japanese corporations are looking to expand abroad, after it was revealed last week that the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company of Japan was in advanced talks to buy the Swiss biotechnology company Nycomed for up to $14 billion.
Toshiba has emerged as the sole potential buyer for Landis & Gyr after a competitive bidding process, the person said. Swiss media outlets have reported that strategic buyers like Siemens, ABB and General Electric had expressed interest, and Bloomberg News reported last week that the private equity firms TPG Capital and EQT of Sweden had made offers.
While Toshiba declined to comment on media speculation, Keisuke Ohmori, a spokesman for the company, said that it was “seeking various ways to expand in the smart community field.”
Landis & Gyr, based in Zug, Switzerland, was bought in 2004 by the Australian investment group Bayard for an undisclosed sum. The group is run by Cameron O’Reilly, who became chief executive of Landis and changed Bayard’s name to Landis & Gyr Holdings.
The company makes gas and electricity meters, information networks and software that increase the transparency of energy production and consumption with an eye to better energy management.
Landis claims consumers can save up to 15 percent on energy costs using its meters, which are are one of the building blocks of a smart grid, or an energy supply system that anticipates and adapts to usage levels.
A spokesman for Landis & Gyr declined to comment.
The Swiss company has about 5,000 employees and operates in more than 30 countries, according to its Web site.
Toshiba is best known for its computers and electronic appliances, but it also has semiconductor and power generation businesses, which it sees as growth areas, alongside smart grids.
The company is building a pilot smart grid on Miyako island, one of the most southern in Japan’s archipelago, where it is combining combine solar energy with smart metering. It is also helping to build two smart grids in a joint experiment conducted in New Mexico.
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