Global power-equipment company Schneider Electric ÔÇô also one of the biggest data center power and cooling vendors ÔÇô has made an agreement to acquire Summit Energy Services, a provider of outsourced energy procurement and sustainability services.

Total acquisition price is US$268m, according to a Schneider news release. In addition to procurement and sustainability services, Summit provides risk management, market intelligence and data management services. The company also has an online platform for energy and sustainability reporting called dashboarDView.

In an open letter, both companies' top-level executives wrote that Schneider would benefit from the deal by expanding into the energy procurement and sustainability services space. Summit will benefit from access to Schneider's global reach, as well as its technical and financial resources.

In the letter, Summit president and CEO Steve Wilhite and Schneider US country president Jeff Drees wrote that Summit has made substantial investment over the past several years into its workforce and technology.

"In combining Summit Energy's strengths with Schneider Electric's resources, we will be even better positioned to lead customers to cost-effective and sustainable energy."

Schneider reported about Ôé¼20bn in sales for 2010 ÔÇô a 24% increase from the year before. Its net profit for the year was about Ôé¼1.7 bn.

The IT industry accounted for 13% of total sales in the year's fourth quarter.