...MILAN (S&P Global Ratings) Sept. 11, 2017--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings on France-based energy management company Schneider Electric S.E. (A-/Stable/A-2) are unaffected by the acquisitions Schneider has announced since July 2017, namely that of U.S.-based Asco Power Technologies and, more recently, the purchase of a majority stake in U.K.-based Aveva. We believe that Asco reinforces Schneider's already sound competitive position in the low voltage business, with the acquisition of a leader in automatic transfer switch technology. The stake in Aveva represents a long-awaited addition to the software business that Schneider considers crucial to move from data analytics to artificial intelligence. According to our estimate, the two transactions, which we expect will be finalized by the end of 2017, include a cash disbursement of 1.5 billion-1.6 billion. We had projected acquisitions of a similar amount over 2017-2019, and at this stage we do not anticipate a material deviation...
