Carrier and Watsco combine to acquire US distributor TEC
16th March 2021
USA: Carrier has announced another joint venture agreement with the USA’s largest HVACR wholesaler Watsco to acquire fellow US distributor Temperature Equipment Corporation (TEC).
Established in 1935, TEC is currently the largest Carrier distributor in the Midwest. It operates as exclusive distributor of Carrier, Bryant and Payne in Chicagoland, NW Indiana, SW Michigan, and Milwaukee areas.
Watsco will own 80% of the venture with Carrier owning the remaining 20%. The venture will operate as an independent business with a focused strategy to grow the companies’ collective market leadership in the TEC Midwest territories.
“This acquisition aligns with Carrier Global’s established plan to execute strategic bolt-on M&A and we are excited to extend our long-term relationships with TEC and Watsco,” said Carrier HVAC president Chris Nelson.
“This new standalone joint venture will allow us to continue to benefit from the entrepreneurial culture and leading market position that the Mungo family has built at TEC over more than 80 years, while leveraging the operational, technology and industry expertise of Watsco,” he added.
Watsco also has an 80% stake in Carrier Enterprise LLC, a US joint venture it formed with Carrier in 2009. Carrier Enterprise sells a variety of Carrier products from 121 locations in 19 states, Puerto Rico and on an export basis to the Caribbean and parts of Latin America. Successive joint ventures were formed by Watsco and Carrier in the north east United States, Mexico and Canada.
