Vertiv Co., formerly Emerson Network Power, announced plans to sell its ASCO business as it continues to sharpen its focus on the digital critical infrastructure space. The $1.25 billion sale to Schneider Electric allows Vertiv to apply additional resources toward business and technological advancements in its core data center, telecommunications and commercial and industrial markets.
The sale price of $1.25 billion reflects a multiple of 11.7 times adjusted EBITDA for calendar year 2016. The sale is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2017.
As Vertiv repositioned itself after being sold to Platinum Equity in November 2016, it became clear that ASCO’s strengths in the automatic transfer switch arena fell outside the new organization’s more focused strategy, said Vertiv CEO Rob Johnson.
“This sale is … consistent with our strategy of focusing on our customers and aligning the strengths of our organization — deep domain knowledge in IT and facilities applications, global scale and service coverage — to better meet their needs,” Johnson said.
Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei said: “Given the amount of cash proceeds expected to be generated from the sale, we will evaluate a number of capital structure alternatives that would be beneficial to all stakeholders."