Mitsubishi Electric to buy DeLclima

JAPAN: Mitsubishi Electric is to purchase Italian manufacturer DeLclima and its chiller companies Climaveneta and RC Group.

Mitsubishi will initially purchase 74.97% of the share capital of DeLclima from De’Longhi Industrial. After the closing of this transaction, Mitsubishi intends to launch a mandatory tender offer to acquire the remaining shares. The total expected purchase price for 100% of DeLclima’s shares is expected to be approximately €664m.

The completion of the initial transaction requires clearance from antitrust authorities and the completion of the sale of DL Radiators Srl, an indirect subsidiary of DeLclima.

The purchase signals Mitsubishi Electric’s full scale entry into the chiller market. Although best known for its air conditioning and heat pump products, Mitsubishi has been marketing chillers in Japan since the 1970s and took its first steps into Europe in June with the launch of its e-series chillers.

Recognising Europe as a particularly important market, a company statement announcing the agreement said: “The acquisition of DeLclima represents Mitsubishi Electric’s full-scale entry into the chillers business and will enable the company to expand its business portfolio, which will be important in achieving continuous growth and increasing market presence. Moreover, the acquisition will allow Mitsubishi Electric to adequately respond to environmental regulations (F-gas regulations), which are expected to become even more important in the coming years.”

Climaveneta is one of the world’s largest air conditioning chiller manufacturers, offering a range of products up to 2,240kW. It operates four factories in Italy, one of which produces a range of air handling units, and has a further factory in Spain, one in India and three in China. Sales in 2014 reached €295m.

The RC Group’s expertise is in specialised air conditioning, in particular air conditioning for server rooms being its major business area.

With demand for chillers expected to remain strong in Europe, Mitsubishi sees the acquisition of DeLclima as a means to enhance its product line-up for large commercial machines, especially for chillers, and to become a comprehensive provider of havc systems ranging from residential to commercial.

“Mitsubishi Electric aims to increase its competitiveness and enlarge its business by enhancing its solution-type business with DeLclima’s system-solution capabilities and by realising synergies, such as by strengthening the company’s global presence with DeLclima’s existing global footprint in various countries, including China,” the company said.

The synergies are expected to include the opportunities for increased sales through cross-selling and by integrating the companies’ control systems to strengthen hvac solution capabilities. In addition, there are plans to add more value to DeLclima’s products by using the components manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, such as inverters, heat exchangers, fans and compressors.

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