Toshiba Corp is among bidders including U.S. and European firms vying to buy Switzerland-based smart metering company Landis+Gyr, the Nikkei business daily reported, in an auction that sources have said could fetch as much as $2 billion.
Landis+Gyr, based in the Swiss city of Zug, has drawn initial bids from General Electric Co and several private equity firms, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in April.
Honeywell International and Swiss engineering firm ABB have also expressed interest, the Japanese paper said on Tuesday, citing unidentified sources.
Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori declined to confirm or deny the report.
“We are considering various ways to expand the smart grid business, but cannot comment on specific projects,” he said.
Landis+Gyr, which makes advanced, or “smart” meters used for measuring power and other energy use, has hired Credit Suisse and Lazard Ltd to advise on a potential sale of the company.
Toshiba’s reported interest comes as Japan’s government asks businesses and households in northern and eastern Japan’s to cut electricity use by as much as a quarter to help utilities cope with peak demand in summer after the March 11 earthquake closed down nuclear power stations and squeezed generating capacity.
Advanced meters allow households to more closely monitor usage while also sending data back to their power providers, which helps them, manage power supply more efficiently.
Toshiba may partner with public-private fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan or with U.S. and European firms if its bid is accepted, the Nikkei said.
Landis+Gyr, which competes with companies such as Itron Inc and EnerNoc Inc, has about $200 million in annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) on roughly $1.5 billion in annual revenue.
Landis+Gyr is owned by several investors including Bayard Capital of Australia after going through a series of different owners including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Siemens in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Founded in 1896, the company has more than 5,000 employees and operates in 30 countries.
Shares of Toshiba gained more than 3 percent, also after the company said the previous day that it expects its operating profit to rise by 25 percent in the year to March 2012, roughly in line with market expectations, though it warned that potential power outages could jeopardize that outlook.
