Landis+Gyr Raises US$165 Million From DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Global Shareholder Base

ZUG, Switzerland, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Landis+Gyr, the world's largest electricity metering and smart meter solutions company that is helping bring the smart grid to reality across the globe, today announced that it had signed an agreement to raise an additional US$165 million in capital to fund the company's continued growth and support smart metering roll-outs worldwide. Joining Landis+Gyr's global base of existing shareholders for this round of investing is DLJ Merchant Banking, a division of Credit Suisse's Asset Management division. The transaction is expected to close by mid-April 2010.

"Energy conservation is the critical fifth fuel as global energy demand continues to outpace supply, and smart meters are an essential ingredient in addressing the imbalance," said Landis+Gyr CEO, Cameron O'Reilly. "This commitment of DLJ Merchant Banking and our existing shareholders is a testament both to their vision and Landis+Gyr's unique leadership position in the rapidly growing global smart meter industry."

"Over the past year, and despite the severe global economic downturn, we have been able to raise more than US$250 million in capital designed to invest in the continued growth of Landis+Gyr."

Edward Johnson, Managing Director and Partner, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners said, "We believe the company is uniquely positioned to capitalize in the global smart meter market and we are excited to have the opportunity to partner with such a high quality management team, led by Cameron O'Reilly, and it's existing group of global investors. We look forward to having Allen Yurko, one of our Industry Partners, join the Board of Directors. Allen brings a wealth of operating experience, including experience in the metering space, in addition to his thorough understanding of the utility sector."

Landis+Gyr is well situated to continue capitalizing on the global smart metering opportunity. The company has won significant new orders around the world in the last 12 months, including major contracts in Australia, across the Nordics countries, in the United States and most recently in the United Kingdom, where the company has just announced a contract with British Gas to provide the first 1 million electricity and gas meters of the country's mandated 47 million meter rollout. The company spends approximately US$90 million per year on research and development to ensure that it has the broadest technology portfolio in the industry, now being deployed for example at US customers PG&E and Oncor, and in Australia for CHED and SP AusNet.  The company has recently released its latest generation 'in-home display unit', targeting the rapidly growing market for in-home energy monitoring and management. In addition to its smart metering wins, the company has also had substantial success in the high-precision products market for China as well as in South America and India with its new anti-theft technologies which enable utilities to provide electricity to areas that otherwise might go without.

The deployment of smart metering and the consequent empowerment of consumers to actively participate in the energy market is the first step towards the creation of a 'Smart Grid', an electricity network that can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it - generators, consumers and those that do both – in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies.

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is the leading provider of integrated energy management solutions tailored to energy company needs. With a global presence and a reputation for quality and innovation, Landis+Gyr is unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering solutions.  Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of more than US$1.25 billion, Landis+Gyr operates in more than 30 countries across five continents, and employs nearly 5,000 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better

About DLJ Merchant Banking Partners

DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (DLJMB) is a leading private equity investor that has a 24-year record of investing in growth capital opportunities, leveraged buyouts and related transactions across a broad range of industries. DLJMB, with offices in New York, London and Los Angeles, is part of Credit Suisse's Asset Management business.  In its Asset Management business, Credit Suisse offers products across a broad spectrum of investment classes, including alternative investments such as private equity, hedge funds, real estate and credit, as well as multi-asset class solutions, which include equities and fixed income products. Credit Suisse's Asset Management business manages portfolios, mutual funds and other investment vehicles for a broad spectrum of clients ranging from governments, institutions and corporations to private individuals. With offices focused on asset management in 19 countries, Credit Suisse's Asset Management business is operated as a globally integrated network to deliver the bank's best investment ideas and capabilities to clients around the world. All businesses of Credit Suisse are subject to distinct regulatory requirements; certain products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all client types

SOURCE Landis+Gyr