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Landis+Gyr Beefs Up Smart Grid Capacity with Ecologic Purchase

<p>The Swiss firm has made its first acquisition since it was purchased by Toshiba, snapping up the remaining stake in the smart-grid software company -- and further tightening the market for smart grid technologies.</p>

Smart meter specialist Landis+Gyr has completed its first acquisition since it was purchased by technology giant Toshiba, shelling out an undisclosed sum for US-based meter data management software firm Ecologic Analytics.

Landis+Gyr has held a stake in the Minnesota-based firm since 2007 and the two companies have worked closely since then on integrating Ecologic's software with the Swiss company's smart meter devices.

The deal, which emulates engineering giant Siemens' acquisition last month of smart meter software provider eMeter, gives Landis+Gyr ownership of 100 percent of Ecologic's stock and paves the way for still tighter integration between the two companies' technologies.

"The strategic rationale for acquiring the remaining ownership of Ecologic Analytics is predicated on ensuring that Landis+Gyr has the capability to offer global utilities the software and meter data management products that they need to complete their smart grid offerings," said Andreas Umbach, president and chief executive of Landis+Gyr in a statement.

"This investment demonstrates our commitment, and that of our parent company Toshiba, to complementing our product portfolio for the long-term when appropriate opportunities arise."

The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions in the smart grid sector as leading technology firms such as Toshiba, Siemens and GE seek to position themselves in a market that is expected to grow rapidly as governments around the world start to mandate the rollout of smart meter technologies.

For example, Toshiba shelled out $2.3 billion to acquire Landis+Gyr last summer and pledged to put the subsidiary at the heart of an "end-to-end" package of smart grid technologies designed to help utilities enhance their energy efficiency and better manage the emergence of new clean technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.

This article originally appeared on BusinessGreen.

Smart meter photo via Shutterstock.

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