International News
PANASONIC TO BUY SYSTEMAIR ’ S
COMMERCIAL AC BUSINESS
Panasonic has announced its intention to acquire the commercial air conditioning business of Swedish HVAC manufacturer Systemair AB in a deal said to be worth EUR100-million .
The agreement includes the purchase of Systemair ’ s Italian companies Systemair Srl and Tecnair SpA and the business conducted by the air conditioning sales employees in Systemair GmbH in Germany , which is subject to HR consultations in Germany .
In addition , Panasonic has offered to acquire all outstanding shares in the French subsidiary Systemair AC SAS and expects Systemair to accept the offer following HR consultations in France . Panasonic says the acquired entities will be operated as consolidated subsidiaries for the commercial air conditioning business under the Panasonic brand after completing necessary procedures .
The businesses include manufacturing and sales of air-cooled and water-cooled chillers and heat pumps , as well as rooftop and other commercial air conditioners .
The French and Italian factories were both acquired by Systemair from French air conditioning manufacturer Airwell , the Italian factory in Barlassina , near Milan , in 2012 and the French factory in Tillières in 2014 .
The business of Tecnair , a manufacturer of close control AC equipment , was acquired by Systemair from the Lu-Ve Group in January of this year .
Panasonic began collaborations with Systemair in 2019 , with the production of Panasonic ’ s ECOi-W heat pump chiller at the Systemair ’ s French factory .
In a statement , Panasonic says that by making Systemair ’ s three air-conditioning companies its consolidated subsidiaries it “[ W ] ill establish new development , production , sales , and maintenance structures for its commercial air conditioning
Panasonic
business and create higher-value-added solutions in hot water supply and space heating in addition to air conditioning by combining the resources owned by the two companies ”.
Panasonic will also benefit from the addition of commercial hydronic air conditioners to its portfolio .
Commenting on the deal , Panasonic HVAC president Masaharu Michiura said : “ We concluded a business alliance with Systemair in 2019 to start procuring commercial air conditioners . We have expanded the scope of collaboration such as by selling our residential air-to-water heat pumps in combination with Systemair ’ s total heat exchangers . By combining Systemair ’ s commercial air-conditioning technologies and our inverter and energy-saving technologies , we will accelerate to provide highvalue added solutions required by our customers .”
Systemair president and CEO Roland Kasper said : “ We made the decision to sell the air conditioner business in Italy and Germany , and intend to sell the air conditioner business in France , because we are confident that focusing on our core business , ventilation , will strengthen our offering to our customers and is in line with our strategy .” RACA
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RACA Journal I March 2023 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za