Schneider Electric Acquires Majority Stake in Aveva

Schneider Electric has agreed to take a majority stake in software supplier Aveva.  In the July 19th announcement, Schneider said it would combine the software business units of both Schneider Electric and Aveva to create a new entity in which Schneider will own a 53.5 percent stake.  Here's an excerpt from the article in Bloomberg:

French manufacturer Schneider will own 53.5 percent of the enlarged entity, the two companies said in a statement Monday. Britain’s Aveva will receive 550 million pounds ($858 million) from Schneider and in return issue new shares to the French company. Aveva rose as much as 32 percent in London trading, the most in almost nine years.

According to the article, the new business will have revenues of about 534 million pounds.  Aveva, which specializes in 3-d engineering design software, was feeling the pressure from the reduced price of oil, and the oil and gas industry accounts for about 45 percent of its business.  This also makes Schneider the second company in the world of process automation that will have a significant presence in engineering and design software.  Siemens acquired Innotec and its Comos engineering platform in 2012 and has a three year head start in integrating its engineering and design capabilities with its strengths in process automation.  Now Schneider has that capability as well with Aveva and it will be quite interesting to see how their solution develops over time. Bloomberg: Schneider Electric Takes Control of Aveva in Software Push