Carrier to sell Beijer Ref stake for $1.1bn

USA: Carrier is to sell its remaining shares in the Swedish refrigeration and air conditioning wholesaler Beijer Ref for $1.1bn. 

The US manufacturer says it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its remaining A and B shares in Beijer Ref to a fund managed by global investment firm EQT. 

As a result, EQT will replace Carrier as Beijer Ref’s principal shareholder with 29.6% of the capital and 26.4% of the votes.

“The ambition is to support Beijer Ref’s continued growth journey, both through acquisitions and organically,” commented Albert Gustafsson, partner at EQT Partners. “We are especially excited to support Beijer Ref in its efforts to promote the phase-out of F-gas dependent solutions in favour of sustainable, green technologies,” he added.

The sale follows an accelerated equity offering that occurred in September through which Carrier sold 9.25 million B shares of Beijer Ref and received proceeds of approximately $300m.  Under the terms of the agreement with EQT, Carrier’s remaining interest will be sold for a total value of approximately $1.1bn. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this month.

“The sale of our stake in Beijer follows our deliberate and consistent approach to capital allocation and portfolio management. We have determined that we can create more value for our shareowners by deploying the net cash proceeds toward our growth initiatives and debt reduction activities than by maintaining a passive interest. We look forward to continuing our longstanding distribution relationship with Beijer,” said Carrier president & CEO Dave Gitlin.

Beijer Ref CEO Per Bertland paid tribute to Carrier’s role in making the company to become a world leader in the refrigeration market. “We now welcome EQT as our new principal shareholder and look forward to continuing our growth journey together with them and entering into exciting new markets and becoming an even stronger player in sustainable cooling technology,” he said.

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Carrier reduces stake in Beijer Ref – 23 September 2020
USA: Carrier has sold 9.25 million B shares, valued at around $300m, in the Swedish refrigeration and air conditioning wholesaler Beijer Ref. Read more…