ABB has confirmed it has completed its previously announced acquisition of solar inverter manufacturer Power-One.
In April, ABB and Power-One agreed to a transaction whereby ABB would acquire Power-One for approximately $1 billion equity value.
“The combination of Power-One and ABB is fully in line with our 2015 strategy and creates a global player with the scale to compete successfully. We are pleased to welcome the Power-One employees on board,” said ABB’s CEO, Joe Hogan after the successful transaction completion.
Richard J. Thompson, CEO of Power-One said, “We are happy to join the ABB family and look forward to a bright common future… ABB is the right partner and now is the ideal time for our companies to join forces.”
The transaction positions ABB as the world’s second largest supplier of solar inverters. Ahead of it is SMA and just behind is SunGrow.
Power-One solar inverters are a popular choice in Australian home solar power installations; offering high performance at a low pricing point and “early to wake, late to sleep” features – meaning more power can be squeezed out of a solar panel array.
The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs approximately 145,000 people. Power-One employs almost 3,500 people, mainly in China, Italy, the United States and Slovakia.
ABB has a long history; spanning over 120 years. Key technologies that underlie modern electricity infrastructure were developed or commercialized by ABB. In the 1950’s, it introduced high voltage direct current (HVDC) and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS); a group of technologies that dramatically increase the capacity of the existing transmission network.
Earlier this year, ABB unveiled the world’s first circuit breaker for high voltage direct current (HVDC); solving a 100-year-old puzzle relating to electricity transmission.
