Japanese Ovens Maker to Buy Out Fujitsu General for $1.6 Billion

(Bloomberg) — A little-known Japanese maker of oven ranges and water heaters has offered to acquire Fujitsu General Ltd. for as much as ¥257 billion ($1.6 billion), becoming the latest suitor for Fujitsu Ltd.’s air-conditioner unit.

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Paloma Rheem Holdings is offering to pay Fujitsu General stockholders ¥2,808 a share — a 24% premium to its Jan. 6 close — or as much as ¥164.7 billion. Parent Fujitsu will separately sell its stake in the unit for roughly ¥92 billion, the Japanese company said in a statement. Paloma Rheem intends to finance the deal through bank borrowing and launch a tender offer around July, Fujitsu said.

Japanese IT firm Fujitsu, which in its heyday made everything from laptops and chips to mobile phones and appliances, has hived off much of its consumer product lineup to focus on communications and information technology systems for businesses. The company had aimed for a quick sale of its stake in Fujitsu General as it shed non-core operations.

It engaged with private equity firms Bain Capital and KKR & Co. and Swedish manufacturer Nibe Industrier AB, though negotiations stalled over price. Paloma Rheem and Fujitsu had previously collaborated on the development of air conditioners in North America.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Fujitsu’s sale of its air-conditioner-making unit to Paloma Rheem Holdings could help it focus on its core IT business. The sale of Fujitsu General, which has low synergy with Fujitsu’s IT business, should have limited impact on overall financial results. The company generated 84% of its adjusted operating profit from its IT business in fiscal 2024 ended March.

– Ian Ma and Takeshi Kitaura, analysts

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In a separate deal, Fujitsu agreed to sell its chip packaging subsidiary Shinko Electric Industries Co. to a group led by the government-backed Japan Investment Corp. for about $2 billion. That sale took years of negotiations, once attracting interest from foreign private equity firms including Apollo Global Management Inc., Bain and KKR. Battery manufacturer FDK Corp. is another unit up for sale.