Minneapolis-based DTN sold to Swiss firm for $900M

Minneapolis-based weather information provider DTN has been sold to TBG AG, a Swiss private equity business, in a deal valued at $900 million.

DTN sells real-time weather data, which helps farmers schedule the planting of crops. Other customers include golf businesses and airlines. The company also owns Progressive Farmer, a century-old magazine, and Meteorlogix, a Burnsville-based forecasting firm.

In 2011, France-based power-equipment supplier Schneider Electric acquired DTN through its purchase of Telvent. The company later decided that DTN, along with some other Telvent subdivisions, didn't align with its goals, Schneider Electric said in a news release.

Schneider Electric will keep part of Telvent's operations, including "a leading portfolio of technologies and software for advanced grid management, pipeline management, geographical information systems," which generated revenue about $213.4 million in 2016.

The sale funds will be used to buy back about $1 billion of its shares over the next two years, Schneider Electric said.

The Swiss Private Equity and Corporate Finance Association website lists TBG as a family office firm that invests in buyouts of industrial product or service companies. Schneider expects to close the deal in the current quarter.

Jackie Renzetti is a U of M student on assignment for the Star Tribune.