Honeywell announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Elster Division of Melrose Industries plc, a leading provider of thermal gas solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential heating systems and gas, water, and electricity meters, including smart meters and software and data analytics solutions, for approximately $5.1 billion.

Elster also manufactures flow computers and regulators for the gas industry.

"The acquisition of Elster will generate strong future returns for Honeywell's shareowners because it increases our growth profile globally – creating both organic and inorganic growth opportunities – and because Honeywell can run this company effectively and accelerate its growth through our complementary technologies, software knowledge, and presence in High Growth Regions," said Honeywell Chairman and CEO Dave Cote.

Elster employs approximately 6,800 people with major locations in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Slovakia.  The company maintains an installed base with more than 200 million metering modules deployed over the course of the last 10 years alone.