French company Schneider Electric to buy Canadian Xantrex Technology for about $500 million

Canadian power equipment developer Xantrex Technology Inc. is being sold to Europe's giant Schneider Electric group for $15 a share, or a total of $500 million. The deal excludes its programmable power business, which is being sold to U.S.-based Ametek Inc. for $120 million. The deal will link Schneider's global marketing, distribution and supply chain infrastructure with Xantrex's technology giving Xantrex products world coverage, said chairman Mossadiq Umedaly. Xantrex's testing products are widely used in the electronics, aviation and defence sectors.