One of the most familiar pieces of equipment in the data center is getting a new owner. Legrand said Tuesday that it is acquiring Universal Electric Corporation, makers of the Starline busway products that provide overhead power connections for data center racks.
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Legrand, which has built a leading position in data center power sector, assembling a family of brands that include Server Technology, Raritan, AFCO, Electrorack, and Ortronics. In announcing the transaction, Legrand hailed the Starline brand as “a true benchmark for the market.”
“Legrand has enjoyed significant growth in the data center market by focusing on best-of-breed product offerings,” said John Selldorff, President and CEO of Legrand, North and Central America (LNCA). “As a global leader in customizable power solutions, Universal Electric Corporation’s award-winning products have revolutionized electrical power distributing in data centers, and perfectly complement our other brands in this business. With this acquisition, we will be providing our customers better solutions for data center applications.”
Legrand said the addition of Universal Electric (UEC) will broaden its product offerings and enable future design innovation that will improve data center efficiency and reliability. UEC’s power distribution solutions frequently interconnect with data center power solutions from Legrand, which said the acquisition will lead to more innovative market offerings in the future. UEC will become part of LNCA’s Data Center Power and Control division.
Founded in 1924, Universal Electric has been providing electrical power solutions for the data center, retail, health care, higher education and industrial markets around the world. Based near Pittsburgh, UEC has more than 450 employees.
“We are excited to join Legrand and provide our customers with a significantly broader product portfolio, as well as advanced R&D capabilities and an expanded global reach,” said Joel Ross, President and CEO of Universal Electric Corporation. “The combination of Universal Electric Corporation and Legrand’s data center power and control brands will enable us to provide accelerated product development, better service, and faster response times to customers in North America and across the globe.”
Legrand and Universal Electric Corporation expect to complete the transaction within the next 60 days.
