Emerson to buy General Electric’s Intelligent Platforms Business

The acquisition is said to expand Emerson’s opportunities in machine control and discrete applications across process industries and target hybrid markets, such as metals & mining, life sciences, food & beverage and packaging. By interfacing Intelligent Platforms’ PLC technology with Emerson’s distributed control systems, customers will be able to connect “islands of automation” within the plant to further enhance operational performance, safety and reliability, Emerson writes in a press release. Both Emerson and Intelligent Platforms are focused on leveraging automation technologies to drive digital transformation in their end markets. Intelligent Platforms recently developed a new family of cloud-connected controllers and devices to enable smarter plants. “Adding GE’s Intelligent Platforms business makes Emerson an even stronger player in the automation space and expands our capabilities to serve the needs across process, hybrid and discrete markets,” says Emerson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David N. Farr, in the release. “This is another important investment in our global portfolio of automation technologies, offering discrete and machine control capabilities that complement our process control expertise to provide better solutions to our customers.” Intelligent Platforms is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, it operates with approximately 650 employees worldwide and in 2017 sales amounted to USD 210 million. The business has a 25-year track record as an industrial automation innovator for machine control, industrial computing, input/output (I/O) and networking devices, project and integration services and other hardware/software solutions. “This transaction enables Intelligent Platforms to be best positioned to pursue its growth strategy, while accelerating our reinvestment in GE Power to develop the energy technologies of the future and provide the world with reliable, affordable electricity,” adds Russell Stokes, President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of fiscal 2019, terms of the deal were not disclosed.