Eaton acquires power rival Tripp Lite for $1.65B

Acquisition to boost Eaton’s edge computing and UPS portfolio

Data centre hardware and power giant Eaton has announced the acquisition of rival Tripp Lite for $1.65 billion.

Eaton expects the acquisition to close by mid-2021.

Eaton, based in Ireland, has over 92,000 employees worldwide and its data centre specialities include UPS products, enclosures, and power distribution.

In a press release, Eaton said the acquisition of Tripp Lite’s 5,000-strong power and data centre infrastructure product portfolio will boost its edge computing and single-phase UPS arms.

Chicago-based Tripp Lite was founded way back in 1922 and its product range includes UPS, battery backups, power distribution units and other data centre products including cooling systems and network switches.

It also offers “EdgeReady”  – a prefab micro data centre which the company claims ships in a speedy three business days.

“The acquisition of Tripp Lite will enhance the breadth of our edge computing and distributed IT product portfolio and expand our single-phase UPS business,” said Uday Yadav, president and chief operating officer of Eaton’s Electrical Sector, in a statement.

“We look forward to welcoming Tripp Lite to the Eaton family,” he added.

In February, Eaton acquired power competitor Power Distribution for an undisclosed fee.

Eaton posted revenues of $21.4 billion in 2019, marginally down from its 2018 revenues of $21.6 billion.