Legrand's signature bolt-on M&A engine — sourcing, scoring and sequencing the next acquisitions (~7 deals a year, self-funded from free cash flow), paired with proof the deal program still returns.
The bolt-on M&A machine still returns — past deals average 2.3x MOIC with 83% of synergies banked — so deploy the €625 M of M&A firepower, but only behind discipline near the 8.0x average entry multiple. Advance the €465 M in Diligence→LOI and bank the synergies on the most recent deals before committing the next round.
2 of 4 headline metrics improving vs prior · still off target: Covenant Headroom (to 3.0×) 1.1x vs 1.5x, M&A Integration / Synergy Realization 78.0% vs 100.0%, Adjusted Operating Profit €2.0 bn vs €2.1 bn
9 of 9 targets price inside the €625 M of M&A firepower; the 2 in LOI (€135 M) and 2 in IOI (€100 M) carry the near-term commit.
Headline the adjusted margin; explain the acquisition-amortisation bridge to reported profit.
Adjusted operating 20.7% ≠ reported operating 19.1% ≠ net 13.1%; the €154 m bridge is acquisition amortisation.
Sets investment & bolt-on M&A headroom and refinancing risk on a conservatively levered (~1.9×) balance sheet.
Communicate the 'Ambitions 2030' path (~€15 bn sales, >20% margin) to sustain the multiple.
The AI/datacenter story re-rated the stock from ~€25–30 bn to ~€40 bn; 2026 high ~€157.
This is the pre-commit cockpit — sourcing → diligence → deal value → integration-risk on every live target, paired with the proof that past deals returned, so the next acquisition is priced and sequenced against the €625 M of M&A firepower we can actually fund.
Advance the €465 M in Diligence→LOI; 9 of 9 targets price inside the €625 M of M&A firepower.
Move: the funnel narrows correctly — the 2 in LOI (€135 M) and 2 in IOI (€100 M) carry the near-term commit. Keep filling the top: 1 Sourced ideas need an owner this quarter to protect throughput.
Every target, LOI first. Read recurring mix up, customer concentration and integration-risk down — those gate the deal.
| Target | Family · Geography | Annualised rev | EBITDA % | Stage | Entry × | Deal value | MOIC target | Recurring % | Cust conc % | Integ risk | Owner | Status detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kratos Industries (US — LV/MV power for datacenters) Denver, CO; low/medium-voltage power distribution for datacenters (~325 employees, ~$100 m sales). | Datacenter & Power Infrastructure · North & Central America | €90 M | 16% | LOI | 8.5x | €122 M | 2.3x | 40% | 35% | 40 | SVP, Datacenter & Power Infrastructure | Announced Feb 2026; US critical-power expansion |
Green4T (Brazil — datacenter technical infrastructure) São Paulo; install / maintenance / operation of datacenter technical infrastructure (~750 employees). | Datacenter & Power Infrastructure · Rest of World | €45 M | 18% | LOI | 9x | €73 M | 2.4x | 55% | 30% | 45 | Head of M&A / Corporate Development | Announced Feb 2026; closing in train — LatAm datacenter services platform |
Linkk Busway Systems (Asia — busbar) Asian busbar / busway specialist for datacenter power distribution. | Datacenter & Power Infrastructure · Asia-Pacific | €60 M | 16% | IOI | 8.2x | €79 M | 2.1x | 35% | 32% | 50 | EVP, Asia-Pacific / MEA / South America | APAC busway capacity; datacenter demand |
Performation (Netherlands — healthcare software) Connected-healthcare / building software — recurring subscriptions. | Building & Connected Systems · Europe | €40 M | 20% | IOI | 7x | €56 M | 2.5x | 80% | 18% | 35 | EVP, Products & Technology | Software subscriptions; strengthens services mix |
Avtron Power Solutions (US — load banks) Load-bank leader for datacenter commissioning & testing. | Datacenter & Power Infrastructure · North & Central America | €120 M | 17% | Diligence | 8x | €163 M | 2.2x | 45% | 28% | 45 | SVP, Datacenter & Power Infrastructure | Integrating into datacenter services; testing & commissioning niche |
Cogelec (France — access control) French access-control & digital-lifestyle systems. | Building & Connected Systems · Europe | €70 M | 19% | Diligence | 7.5x | €100 M | 2.3x | 55% | 20% | 30 | EVP, Products & Technology | Connected building / access control; recurring software mix |
Amperio (Switzerland — busbars) Swiss busbar specialist — energy distribution & datacenter. | Energy Distribution & Cable Management · Europe | €40 M | 18% | Diligence | 8x | €58 M | 2.2x | 30% | 22% | 35 | EVP, Europe | Bolt-in to Zucchini / busway range |
Computer Room Solutions / CRS (Australia) Australian white-space datacenter infrastructure. | Datacenter & Power Infrastructure · Asia-Pacific | €50 M | 15% | Contacted | 8.4x | €63 M | 2x | 40% | 30% | 55 | EVP, Asia-Pacific / MEA / South America | White-space fit-out; APAC datacenter services |
Quitérios (Portugal — distribution boards) Modular electrical distribution boards — energy-transition fit. | Energy Distribution & Cable Management · Europe | €35 M | 17% | Sourced | 7.8x | €46 M | 2.1x | 25% | 24% | 40 | EVP, Europe | Energy-distribution range extension in Iberia |
Easiest to integrate first. Clean, recurring-rich deals go now; concentrated, complex targets get hard diligence and a retention gate.
Integration priority: integrate the top of this list first — low risk plus high recurring mix banks the synergies fast and keeps the PMO unblocked before the heavier, concentration-risk targets enter the integration plan.
Avg implied MOIC 2.3x across the 7 deals; 83% of synergies banked. Lagging: none.
| Deal | Closed | Deal value | Entry × | Synergy plan | Synergy real | Implied MOIC | Payback | IRR % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kratos Industries (US — datacenter power) | 2026 | €122 M | 8.5x | €26 M | €6 M | 2.3x | 5.2y | 17% |
| Green4T (Brazil — datacenter services) | 2026 | €73 M | 9x | €16 M | €4 M | 2.4x | 5.4y | 16% |
| Avtron Power Solutions (US — load banks) | 2025 | €163 M | 8x | €30 M | €10 M | 2.2x | 5y | 18% |
| Linkk Busway Systems (Asia — busbar) | 2025 | €79 M | 8.2x | €18 M | €7 M | 2.1x | 4.8y | 18% |
| Cogelec (France — access control) | 2025 | €100 M | 7.5x | €20 M | €9 M | 2.3x | 4.6y | 19% |
| Performation (Netherlands — healthcare SW) | 2025 | €56 M | 7x | €14 M | €6 M | 2.5x | 4.2y | 22% |
| Datacenter capacity build (organic) | 2025 | €200 M | 6.5x | €46 M | €20 M | 2.6x | 3.8y | 24% |
Read: the highest-return deals (the organic datacenter capacity build, Performation healthcare software) return ~2.5–2.6x at sub-4.2-year payback — the model works when the ramp lands. No deal sits below 1.3x MOIC — but the most recent bolt-ons (Kratos, Green4T) are still early in their synergy ramp; hold M&A discipline before committing the next round at a similar multiple.
Electrical & datacenter majors making the same datacenter, electrification and cooling moves set the competitive bar for our deals.
| Date | Peer | Move | Value | End-market | Read-through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-02 | Schneider Electric | Datacenter / energy-management build-out (APC) | €4.2 bn | Datacenter / Electrical | The dominant French peer (~4× larger); overlaps in low-voltage, energy management & datacenter. |
| 2026-03-18 | Vertiv | AI datacenter cooling & power capacity | €1.5 bn | Datacenter | The most direct datacenter rival (~$10 bn); pure-play, growing fast. |
| 2026-02-20 | Eaton | US datacenter & electrical capacity | €2.0 bn | Datacenter / Electrical | ~3× larger; big US datacenter/electrical exposure; Mobility spin-off in train. |
| 2026-01-15 | ABB | Electrification & datacenter power | €1.8 bn | Electrification | ~3–4× larger; electrification & motion; datacenter power. |
| 2025-12-10 | nVent Electric | Enclosures / containment / liquid cooling | €900 M | Enclosures & cooling | Direct overlap (Cablofil vs nVent); datacenter containment & cooling beneficiary. |
So what: Schneider, Vertiv, Eaton, ABB and nVent are all buying into datacenter power, cooling & electrification on the same AI tailwind — hold M&A discipline near our 8.0x average entry multiple and keep leading in critical power, busway & cooling where the datacenter fit and returns are strongest.