ABB will acquire Ventyx for more than US$1 billion from Vista Equity Partners to become a leading provider of software solutions for managing energy networks.

Ventyx (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) is a software provider to global energy, utility, communications and other asset-intensive businesses, offering a broad range of solutions including: asset management, mobile workforce management, energy trading and risk management, energy operations and energy analytics. The company also provides software solutions for planning and forecasting electricity needs, including renewables.

ABB will combine its related network management business within the Power Systems division with Ventyx to form a single unit for energy management software solutions. By providing ABB with broader access to the utility enterprise management market, the acquisition triples the energy management software market available to ABB.

Ventyx has a large installed base in the U.S. market and Europe, and operates in more than 40 countries. Its customers include leading power utilities in the United States and Europe as well as industrial businesses. The company employs 900 people and reported 2009 revenues of about $250 million.

One of Ventyx's key software applications gives utilities and grid operators the information they need to better match electricity generation with consumption, even at the household level. By generating real-time information on electricity demand, pricing and availability, Ventyx's software enables a practical business model for utilities to generate revenues from smart grids and carbon trading.

Ventyx's load-forecasting software also can help to integrate large amounts of unpredictable renewable energies, such as wind and solar power. The company provides other asset management applications to fully integrate a utility's business and enterprise systems across the entire value chain, and a comprehensive service suite to facilitate efficient resolution of network failures.

Visit www.abb.com to learn more.