Japanese AC maker Daikin to acquire Goodman Global for $3.7 bn

Japanese air conditioner maker, Daikin Industries Ltd, yesterday finally struck a deal to buy US rival Goodman Global Inc, for $3.7 billion, after having been in on-off takeover talks for more than a year.

Daikin is buying Goodman from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which had taken the company private in 2007, in a $2.65-billion cash deal including debt.

The proposed Daikin-Goodman merger would make the Osaka-based company the largest air conditioner manufacturer in the US surpassing market leader United Technologies Corp.

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 an uncertain global economic scenario.

Daikin, the world's largest air conditioner maker, is a leader in the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry while Houston, Texas-based Goodman is a leading manufacturer and distributor in the US residential unitary HVAC (for air-conditioning the entire house).

Daikin is a global HVAC manufacturer offering extensive products, including ductless air-conditioning and heat pump systems for residential and commercial applications as well as large-sized HVAC systems for buildings and factories, and Daikin said that the acquisition will allow it to enter the ducted-style air-conditioning market for residential and commercial applications in North America.