Centrica buys Panoramic Power for $60 mln to grow in U.S.

Nov 12 (Reuters) - British utility Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) has bought Panoramic Power for $60 million, a partner in its U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . energy services business, it said on Thursday, underlining its growth ambitions in North America.

Centrica's U.S. subsidiary Direct Energy and Panoramic have a partnership which provides wireless sensors that allow business customers to monitor their energy consumption.

Direct Energy will initially continue to focus on business customers but plans to introduce Panoramic Power's products into other markets in the future, the company said.

Britain's Centrica has been hit in its home market by sluggish energy prices and retail competition, leading to a shift in focus to bigger markets such as the United States.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)