By Ludwig Burger and Shivani Tanna
(Reuters) -German technology group Bosch has agreed to acquire Johnson Controls’ and Hitachi’s residential ventilation businesses for around $8 billion, it said on Tuesday, in the unlisted group’s largest takeover to date.
Bosch said in a statement that Johnson’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) business for residential and small commercial applications would strengthen its Bosch Home Comfort unit, boosting sales of the division to 9 billion euros ($9.8 billion) from 5 billion currently.
Johnson Controls International (JCI) said in a separate statement that it stands to receive $6.7 billion in cash for the transaction.
The sale of the JCI assets includes its North America ducted business and its residential joint venture with Japan’s Hitachi.
Including ductless HVAC production sites in Shimizu, Japan, that Hitachi will retain, the transaction is valued at $8.1 billion overall, JCI said.
Bosch as well as Lennox International and Samsung Electronics were among the suitors competing to acquire the Johnson Controls assets, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in March.
($1 = 0.9194 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Savio D’Souza, Kirsten Donovan)
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
