Carlyle and PAI join forces to snap up Schneider sensors unit
SCHNEIDER Electric yesterday closed the $900m (£556m) sale of its sensors and technologies business to private equity firms the Carlyle Group and PAI Partners.
Schneider told investors in April it had agreed to sell the Custom Sensors & Technologies division, which employs about 4,500 people, after entering into exclusive talks.
It has now received all regulatory approvals for the deal, as well as consent from the comites d’entreprise, the French employee works councils.
Schneider is investing $100m in the business to continue as a shareholder in the group. It will own roughly 30 per cent of the firm after the deal completes.
Schneider, which generated $600m of revenue in 2013, saw shares dip by 0.93 per cent in trading yesterday on the Paris stock exchange.
Carlyle is funding the deal from its Carlyle Europe Partners IV fund – its first investment from the new fund.
PAI is drawing down the money available from the €2.7bn PAI Europe V fund.