Acquisition, Investment and a Successful IPO: Are Things Looking Up for the Smart Grid?

It's been a busy week in the world of Smart Grid finance, and it's only Wednesday. We've got a major acquisition, a wildly successful IPO and the heavy hitters are investing. This is the snapshot of the past few days:

·         Electric grid technology developer Consert got some serious help from a few friends in high places. GE Energy Financial Services, Constellation Energy, Qualcomm Inc., Verizon Ventures and private sources invested $17.7 million in the company to support North American sales and marketing and software improvements.

·         Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. got rave reviews with its initial public offering despite the still lousy climate hanging over Wall Street. The Tesla IPO, the first by an American car company in more than 50 years, opened at $17 a share and oversubscribed.

·         INFRAX Systems, a global Smart Grid products and services provider, wrapped up its acquisition of Trimax Wireless Inc. for $10 million in preferred stock and cash. Trimax is an innovative designer, developer and manufacturer of advanced carrier grade broadband wireless gear and other advanced technologies.

Quick Take from Jesse Berst: For the past year, executives at small and mid-sized firms have been telling me about repeated tire-kicking visits from giant firms. The Big Kids are looking to buy their way into the market by snapping up smaller firms with strong technology and/or good customer sets.  Now some of that shopping around is turning into deals. Meanwhile, those that aren't buying outright are pumping big dollars into partnerships or R&D. This roundup of recent events shows clearly how our sector has transitioned to the Big Money ramp-up phase.

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