Emerson to acquire Avocent

$US1.2 billion cash payout to combine datacentre powerhouses to increase energy efficiency play

Datacentre vendor, Emerson, will acquire infrastructure management vendor, Avocent for $US1.2 billion.
The deal was unanimously accepted by Avocent board members, and will be an all-cash transaction of $US25 per share. It is expected to close around January 1, 2010.

In a release, Emerson chairman, CEO and president, David Farr, said the combination of Avocent’s technologies, relationships and install base with Emerson’s power and cooling presence would allow the combined entity to offer a more compelling energy efficiency solution.

“It furthers our customer’s ability to better manage reliability, availability and lifecycle costs through a simple yet comprehensive view of the complete datacentre physical architecture,” Farr stated.

In 2008, Avocent recorded sales of $US657 million, with nearly 50 percent of the revenue coming from outside the US. Emerson’s datacentre-related revenues were approximately $2.6 billion in fiscal 2008.