O'Reilly's Landis+Gyr sold to Toshiba for €2.3bn

LANDIS+GYR, the Swiss electronic-metering company taken over by Cameron O’Reilly in 2004, has been sold to Toshiba for $2.3 billion.

The cash sale, which includes assumptions of $640 million in bank debt, had been well flagged to the market.

Mr O’Reilly and his father, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, are both “major shareholders” in Landis+Gyr, the company said yesterday.

Allianz Capital Partners and Australian Capital Equity are among the other shareholders.

Sir Anthony is known to have held 7 per cent of Landis+Gyr in 2008. This stake would be valued at about €160 million under the sale deal.

Cameron O’Reilly is also believed to have held – or been in the process of accumulating – a similar stake ahead of the planned flotation of the company in 2010.

Mr O’Reilly will remain with the company in the role of executive deputy chairman until the close of the transaction, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year. While he will remain actively involved in the company in an advisory capacity, any announcement of a formal role with Toshiba is unlikely before the deal’s closing.

The deal is Toshiba’s biggest acquisition in five years and marks the company’s first major foray into the smart metering business.

Landis+Gyr is one of the world’s biggest manufacturer of smart meters. The company operates in 30 countries and employs more than 5,000 people. Earlier this year, it won a major contract in China to build the world’s largest smart grid.

Revenues at Landis+Gyr were $1.59 billion for the year ended March 2011, while the company had adjusted Ebidta of $215 million.

Landis+Gyr had made advanced preparations for flotation in New York before receiving approaches from a number of private equity bidders. The €2.3 billion sale price represents a multiple of Ebidta of 10.7.

Mr O’Reilly, Sir Anthony’s eldest son, bought Landis+ Gyr in 2004 through Bayard, the Australia-based investment-group he established after he left Independent News Media.