Industrials and Manufacturing Sector

LS Electric won a $165.72 million contract to supply power equipment for an AI data center built by a North American technology company, more than doubling a $70.43 million order signed in June for the same customer. The South Korean manufacturer will deliver a 38-kilovolt high-voltage power distribution system and additional equipment through January 30, 2027, under a deal that runs from the original June 8 signing date. LS Electric's execution on the earlier project—meeting quality standards and tight delivery schedules—convinced the customer to expand the order. The company operates manufacturing bases in Utah and Texas that let it cut logistics costs and respond faster to demand. LS Electric plans to use the contract to push into next-generation AI data center power infrastructure, including direct-current distribution systems. The deal adds to a recent $34.26 million contract with Bloom Energy for power distribution solutions, part of a broader winning streak in North America as Big Tech investment in AI data centers accelerates.

The European Commission closed an antitrust investigation into Pratt & Whitney Canada on Friday after the RTX unit amended contractual clauses that had restricted independent spare-parts suppliers' access to critical inputs and services. The investigation centered on whether Pratt & Whitney Canada's agreements prevented maintenance shops and independent companies from buying used engine cores, obtaining certification services, or sourcing components needed to compete in the aircraft-engine aftermarket. Pratt & Whitney Canada revised the disputed terms to clarify that maintenance shops could purchase used material from other suppliers and removed restrictions on independent operators' ability to access the inputs required for the spare-parts business. The Commission did not impose a fine, treating the contractual changes as sufficient remedy. The closure illustrates how EU regulators can end enforcement action when a company swiftly removes the competitive barriers under review, without proceeding to a formal infringement finding. For RTX, the decision eliminates regulatory uncertainty in Europe and underscores the Commission's acceptance of behavioral remedies over sanctions when firms address competition concerns promptly.

Utilities are selling off non-core assets to private equity for the first time in decades as data center power demand reshapes the grid, according to oilprice.com. The Trump administration has pushed tech companies to build their own energy infrastructure rather than strain public grids, but this policy is spawning what energy analysts call a "shadow grid"—private power plants operating outside traditional utility regulation and environmental oversight. Utilities, facing massive capital needs to upgrade aging transmission and distribution systems, are now willing to cut deals on regulated monopoly assets that have been off the market for 20 years. Jeff Jenkins, co-founder of Bernhard Capital Partners, told Semafor that private equity sees this as a rare window: "When you can buy a regulated monopoly at a discount, you do it." The immediate effect is a capital rush into utility assets, but Jenkins warns the cycle may not last. Once Big Tech finishes building its own natural gas plants to power data centers, utilities will revert to buying rather than selling, potentially leaving late-stage private investors exposed. The underlying tension is structural: most grid cost pressure comes from transmission and distribution upgrades, not generation, meaning even self-supplied data centers cannot escape the broader infrastructure bill.