Esco buys Megger for $2.35bn to merge with Doble Engineering
11 May 2026 
US-based Esco Technologies is buying the UK test and measurement manufacturer, the Megger Group, from its Swiss owner, the investment group TBG, for $2.35bn, consisting of $0.9bn in cash and Esco equity worth around $1.4bn. Esco plans to combine Megger with its US electrical diagnostics business, Doble Engineering, in its Utility Solution Group (USG). The agreement is expected to close within six to nine months.
The combined organisation’s products and services will include test equipment for motors, batteries, cables, circuit breakers, relays and transformers, as well as on-line monitoring systems, and data analytics for electrical utilities.
“This transformational transaction will expand our scale and international reach, further strengthening our position as a valued partner to utilities worldwide,” says Esco’s CEO and president, Bryan Sayler. “The addition of Megger is a major milestone in our strategy to build a scaled, differentiated, high-margin utility solutions platform.
“We have long admired Megger and view it as an exceptional strategic fit within our USG portfolio,” he adds. “Megger adds a respected and differentiated product portfolio, with highly complementary capabilities, deep technical expertise, and strong customer and supplier relationships.”
“We are incredibly proud of the exceptional platform we have built at Megger and believe Esco is the ideal partner to accelerate the next stage of growth,” adds TBG CEO, Jeremy Abson. “We believe in the strategic vision of what the Doble and Megger combination can be in the future and are supportive of Esco’s broader businesses and strategies.”
Esco cites the following potential benefits from the acquisition:
- Complementary products Megger’s test equipment will expand Esco’s portfolio into new areas in the electric utility market.
- Synergies The combination is expected to deliver synergies worth $60m within three years.
- Expanding scale and global presence Megger will expand Esco’s product offerings in North America, the UK, Europe and Asia.
- Strong growth Megger is expected to generate revenues worth around $590m in 2026, with a strong growth outlook, driven by the need to maintain assets as utilities upgrade and expand their infrastructures globally to meet the growing demand for electricity.
- Expansion into high-growth, profitable end-markets Around 85% of Esco’s revenue comes from the utility, aerospace and defence markets.
The merger will integrate “complementary” product portfolios and capabilities including advanced offline test equipment, continuous online monitoring, and engineering analytics. Esco says that the new entity will create “a cohesive ecosystem” offering a single source for predictive, condition-based maintenance.
The merged organisation will also offer end-to-end asset lifecycle visibility. Megger’s focus on portable offline test equipment and multi-asset field instrumentation will open up opportunities for linking with Doble’s condition monitoring, diagnostics, laboratory analytics, substation testing, and engineering services capabilities.
Megger’s headquarters are in Dover, Kent, and it has operations in Europe, North America and Asia.
Megger can trace its history back to 1889 when Sydney Evershed invented the insulation tester. In 1923, he registered the Megger name as a trademark, together with Ernest Vignoles. In 1923, Donald MacAdie invented the world’s first test instrument capable of measuring Amps, Volts and Ohms simultaneously, calling it the Avometer and setting up the Avo company. In 1968, Avo acquired Evershed and Vignoles (Megger) and, following a management buyout in 1987, the business became Megger Instruments. Four years later the business was acquired by TBG (Thyssen Bornemisza Group) which merged Megger with US-based Multi-Amp and the cable fault location specialist Biddle in 1995, to form Avo International. The group then embarked on an acquisition spree that included buying the Swedish transformer and circuit-breaker specialist Programma in 2007, the German cable testing manufacturer Seba KMT in 2012, and the US motor and generator testing developer Baker Instruments in 2018. In 2002, the group reverted to the Megger Instruments name.
Esco Technologies consists of three business segments: aerospace and defence; RF test and measurement; and utility solutions, which includes Doble, Morgan Schaffer, NRG Systems, Phenix Technologies, and now Megger.
Esco Technologies: LinkedIn
