Daikin said to buy US rival Goodman Global for $3.82 bn
29 Aug 2012
Daikin Industries Ltd, the world's largest air conditioner maker, will buy US rival Goodman Global Inc by the end of the year, for about 300 billion yen ($3.82 billion), an official at the Japanese air-conditioner maker yesterday told reporters.
The deal to be announced later in the day, will see the Osaka, Japan-based company fund the transaction through loans, bond market, and cash reserves.
Osaka-based Daikin had said in January 2011 that it was mulling buying Goodman, but had put talks on hold in April 2011 following Japan's March 2011 earthquake and tsunami as well as the uncertain global economic scenario.
The proposed merger could make Daikin the largest air conditioner manufacturer in the US surpassing United Technologies Corp.
Goodman is owned by San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which took it private in 2007, in a $2.65-billion cash deal including debt.
Hellman & Friedman in late 2010 put Goodman on the block, which would see the PE firm getting nearly four times its investment.
