With eye on cloud, GE will pay $520M for data center power expert

It makes sense that an expert in electrical technology is getting into what could be a huge burgeoning market: the power infrastructure for cloud and mobile computing applications. General Electric plans to pay approximately $520 million for Lineage Power, of Plano, Texas, which provides DC power conversion technology.

As rationale for the deal, GE cites the potential $20 billion market for power conversion infrastructure, which is being accelerated by cloud computing services, mobile Internet access, and the spike in video and data applications.

Here's a quote from Dan Heintzelman, the president and CEO of the GE Energy Services unit:

"Every new mobile device plugs into an infrastructure that requires an ever increasing amount of high-quality power. The growth in high-bandwidth mobile Internet applications and cloud computing is accelerating that demand. A globally networked planet needs a lot of power to keep spinning. Customers want efficient, reliable means to manage that power."

The acquisition will extend the GE division's reach from data centers to cell towers to routers to servers and circuit board electronics.

GE made another deal back in October 2010 -- valued at $3 billion -- to acquire Dresser, which is a Dallas-based energy infrastructure company.

The whole notion of cloud computing may still be murky to some companies, but GE clearly sees opportunity in the buildout.