Water Treatment Company Xylem To Buy Sensus For $1.7 Billion In Cash

Water treatment company Xylem Inc. said Monday it has reached an agreement to buy Sensus for about $1.7 billion in cash. Sensus, which is owned by investment funds linked to The Jordan Company and GS Capital Partners 2000, provides smart meters, network technology and data analytics services for the water, electric and gas industries. Sensus had $837 million in revenue and $159 million in EBITDA in the year through March 31. "The combination of Xylem's world-class brands and products with Sensus' leading-edge smart technologies will create a differentiated offering that will better meet our customers' evolving needs, including greater energy efficiency, water conservation, and improved life-cycle costs," Xylem Chief Executive Patrick Decker said in a statement. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Xylem shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 32.7% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500 , which has gained 6.9%.