Vertiv Buys E&I For $1.8B To Fill Power ‘Gaps’ And Scale

Vertiv CEO Rob Johnson says his company’s future ‘has never been brighter,’ with the acquisition of global power provider E&I Engineering Ireland Limited.

IT power specialist Vertiv is filling any remaining power portfolio gaps with its $1.8 billion acquisition of E&I Engineering Ireland Limited and its affiliate, Powerbar Gulf, marking the Vertiv’s first acquisition as a public company.

Global power provider E&I generates annual revenue of $460 million by selling electrical switchgear and power distribution systems, with Vertiv hoping to leverage E&I’s footprint outside of the U.S. to win new customers, particularly in Europe and Asia.

Vertiv CEO Rob Johnson said the acquisition marks the start of an “important chapter” for his Columbus, Ohio-based company that creates “significant” new opportunities and fills any remaining “gaps” in its power and data center portfolio.

“Together with E&I, the future of Vertiv has never been brighter and we are excited about the potential value creation opportunities for our shareholders in both the near- and long-term,” said Johnson in a statement. “The combination will amplify Vertiv’s growth opportunities and profitability, while enabling Vertiv to deliver differentiated solutions that manage a customer’s entire power infrastructure as an integrated system.”

[Related: Park Place Technologies Acquisition Spree Continues]

With 2,100 employees worldwide, Ireland-based E&I has a deep heritage in the power distribution market and relationships with blue-chip customers in more than 30 countries.

E&I’s products include critical power switchgear, UPS input and output switch gear and busway, competing in an addressable market of roughly $7 billion which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent through 2025, says Vertiv. E&I helped pioneer in-house integrated power solution designs and technology tailored to individual client needs.

“The acquisition of E&I represents a key milestone in Vertiv’s strategy, completing our portfolio of in-building power train offerings for data centers and vital commercial and industrial markets,” said Vertiv CEO Johnson.

Vertiv has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire @engineeringei, a global provider of switchgear, busway & modular power units. As our customers’ power requirements continue to grow, we know this combination will help us meet their evolving needs. https://t.co/zcnCb8wfpF

— Rob Johnson (@RobJohnsonJ) September 8, 2021

Vertiv and E&I are planning to work together to serve some of the world’s leading hyperscale cloud and colocation companies looking for more power capability and flexible power deployment options to support increasingly power requirements. Additionally, Vertiv expects to realize $18 million in pre-tax run rate cost synergies within three years alone.

“We are excited to join the Vertiv team and to continue to grow our business through Vertiv’s global reach, strong channel presence and great customer positioning in critical digital infrastructures,” said Philip O’Doherty, founder and CEO of E&I in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. The acquisition has already been unanimously approved by Vertiv’s board of directors.