Landis+Gyr and Pacific Equity Partners Announce Joint Venture for Acquisition of Acumen Metering Business

Positioned to Expand Smart Metering and Related Services in Australia 

ZUG, Switzerland and SYDNEY, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global smart metering leader Landis+Gyr (LAND.SW) and Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) today announced an agreement to form a joint venture for the acquisition of Acumen from Australia's largest energy retailer, Origin Energy Limited.  The joint venture will be known as intelliHUB Holdings Pty Ltd.  The Acumen business includes the existing management and servicing of an already deployed 170,000 meters and a material, long-term contract with Origin Energy for the rollout of additional smart meters across Australia.  The parties expect the transaction to close in the coming few months.

The intelliHUB business was established by Landis+Gyr in 2015 in preparation for the mass market rollout of smart meters in Australia under new contestability rules.  It benefits from Landis+Gyr's global experience in smart metering technology, systems and operating large scale metering deployments overseas as it has refined the local offering.  By acquiring the Acumen business, the combined entity is poised to rollout a significant proportion of the estimated 8 million smart meters to be deployed across NSW, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory starting immediately. Landis+Gyr will be contributing both cash and its intelliHUB business with combined equity value of up to AUD 75 million (approximately USD 57 million at current exchange rates).

Under the new joint ownership structure, the business will benefit from PEP's proven track record in business development to deliver long-term growth, underpinned by strong governance and sustainability.  The joint venture has raised a starting position in excess of AUD 500 million of capital to finance the rollout of smart meters in Australia.  This comes from a combination of PEP's new AUD 1 billion Secure Assets Fund and a banking consortium of eight leading Australian and global financial institutions.

The business will retain both the intelliHUB and Acumen brands as the combined businesses come together to focus on all facets of residential, consumer and industrial, embedded networks and solar metering services across Australia and New Zealand. The acquisition is an important milestone for Landis+Gyr as it transitions its footprint across Asia Pacific to a multi-faceted business offering market leading products, solutions and services for smart metering rollouts.