Eaton Acquires Aphel in Power Deal

Eaton Corporation (ETN), which makes the Powerware line of UPS systems and power management equipment, announced earlier this month that it has acquired Aphel Technologies Limited, a UK-based supplier of high density, fault-tolerant power distribution solutions (PDUs) for data centers. Terms were not disclosed. Aphel had sales of $12.3 million in 2006.

"The acquisition of Aphel Technologies expands our power quality and distribution offerings to customers in key European markets," said Randy Carson, Eaton senior vice president and president of its Electrical Group. Indeed, its increasingly a global marketplace for data center power and cooling products, as demonstrated by Schneider's purchase of APC last year. Eaton also announced earnings earlier this week, noting that "the markets for uninterruptible power supply products registered solid growth." Revenue in the company's electrical segment jumped 12% to $1.1 billion, briefly helping Eaton's shares hit an all-time high.