Matt Goes Green

Xantrex, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based maker of power electronics for renewable energy systems, said today it’s agreed to be acquired by Schneider Electric, a French energy management firm, for C$15 ($14.66) a share, or C$500 million ($488 million), in cash. The buyout includes a separate deal for Xantrex to sell its programmable power business; it has arranged sell the unit to Ametek for C$120 million. This news comes a week after Xantrex said it had entered into exclusive negotiations to sell the company but had not named any buyers.

The deal, which is expected to close in October, remains subject to shareholder approval. At last check, shares of Xantrex were trading up C$1.19, or just shy of 9 percent, at C$14.65. The deal will give Xantrex access to the global market to sell its power electronics, which include inverters for solar power and wind energy systems.

Xantrex has recently inked $7.3 million worth of supply agreements. This month, it signed a deal to provide its inverters to solar energy provider Sun Edison over the next year that it says is worth some $5 million. Xantrex will also be supplying the mysterious and cash-laden OptiSolar with $1.9 million of inverters for that solar company’s planned 50-megawatt solar farm in Sarnia, Ontario, by the end of year.