Badger Meter, a manufacturer of flow measurement and control products, announced it acquired Aquacue, Inc., a small software technology company located in Los Gatos, Calif., on April 1 for $14 million in cash.
Aquacue’s software provides water management data to utilities and consumers.
“Although this is an early-stage company without significant sales, we believe Aquacue’s intellectual property can move us further down the road in adding new technology enhancements to our Advanced Metering Analytics automatic meter reading system,” said Richard A. Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter, in an April 16 announcement.
In addition, Badger Meter has signed an exclusive agreement related to the announced decision by Elster AMCO Water, LLC to exit the mechanical water meter business in North America as of June 30. As part of the agreement, Elster AMCO is notifying its customers that Badger Meter has been selected as the recommended supplier for their mechanical water meters after June 30. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to gain additional market share,” said Meeusen. “Our sales force has already been participating in joint calls with Elster AMCO customers and we look forward to working with the utilities as they select our mechanical water meters for their future installations.”
Badger Meter announced the Aquacue acquisition and Elster AMCO agreement as part of the company’s First Quarter Results report. Both net sales and net earnings for the first quarter of 2013 are down 5.8 percent and 53.5 percent, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2012.
The company’s industrial sales increased slightly as a result of the acquisition of Racine Federated last year.
“While 2013 is off to a slow start, we believe we will see a return to more normal patterns in coming quarters. We are excited about the potential growth opportunities we have with the Aquacue acquisition and the Elster AMCO agreement,” Meeusen said.
