• Schneider Electric has bought the US ultrasonic sensing specialist, Hyde Park Electronics. The Ohio-based company, which employs 46 people and has sales of around €6m, makes products that sense the position and motion of items on machines ultrasonically.

• The deal under which Brooks Automation was buying Berkeley Process Control, has been called off by the two companies because of changes in the US business environment. The companies announced the deal last September. Brooks supplies automation equipment to the semiconductor industry, while Berkeley specialises in motion and machine control technologies.

• The Japanese company Minebea has announced its intention to withdraw from the power supply industry by the end of this year to focus on its core businesses such as ball bearings, precision motors, and fans. The company, which employs more than 43,000 people and has 32 factories worldwide, says that the withdrawal is in response to "rapid changes in the business environment",and the anticipated growth in demand for precision electromechanical components.