Itron acquires Georgia-based energy services company in $100 million cash deal

Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc. has acquired Comverge, a privately held company that provides software, hardware and services to electric utilities implementing demand response and energy efficiency programs. The cash transaction is valued at about $100 million, Itron said Monday.

Itron is a leading provider of smart grid technologies and advanced metering for the energy and water utilities. Its product portfolio includes electricity, gas, water and thermal energy measurement devices and control technology; communications systems; software; and consulting services.

The acquisition of Comverge’s parent company, Peak Holding Corp., expands the scope of smart grid offerings for the industry, Itron said. Comverge is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, and has offices in Denver and Florham Park, New Jersey, and in Japan and South Africa.

“The acquisition of Comverge enables Itron to offer a unique solution set that brings Comverge’s demand management solutions to the edge of the network using OpenWay Riva’s edge intelligence and processing capabilities,” Philip Mezey, Itron’s president and CEO, said in a news release Monday. “This will enable utilities to better integrate distributed energy resources and optimize grid performance and reliability. With this acquisition, we are delivering even more value for our customers on top of industry-leading AMI and smart grid solutions enabling a robust, active grid.”

Gregory Dukat, Comverge’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement, “There are tremendous opportunities that exist between our technologies, operations and customer relationships. The combination of Comverge and Itron is beneficial for both companies, and most importantly, to our employees and customers.”

Itron’s stock on the Nasdaq (ITRI) was up 1.5 percent in midday trading Monday.

Itron made a profit of nearly $32 million in 2016. The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide, including 500 in Liberty Lake.