This month saw the first billion plus acquisition of a pure Smart Grid company with Toshiba’s purchase of Landis+Gyr for $2.3 billion .The owners of Landis+Gyr, the Australian investment group Bayard Capital announced over a year ago that they would go for an IPO within 2 years. It was therefore no surprise when rumors started in April that strategic buys were being considered from a number of suitors including GE. With the exception of GE all the other traditional electrical giants do not have a smart meter business so the odds were always in favor of one of them finding this buy irresistible. This sale was always going to be contested, as Landis+Gyr are the number one producer of electrical smart meters and have the widest exposure to world markets. Toshiba was not thought to be the most likely buyer but they were more prepared to dig deep into their pockets and bring a big […]