Hellman & Friedman sells Goodman to Japan’s Daikin

Hellman & Friedman acquired Goodman in October 2007 for an enterprise value of $2.65 billion. The deal comprised of $1.8 billion in cash, with $1.1 billion taking the form of equity. The San Francisco-based vendor may well be disappointed by the size of the deal, which falls short of the $4 billion figure it was said to be targeting last year.

The CEO of Osaka-based Daikin, the world's second-largest air conditioner manufacturer, first claimed to be considering making a bid for the company more than 18 months ago. The acquisition plans were postponed following the earthquake and tsunami, and ensuring nuclear disaster, however.

Daikin confirmed in January this year that it was still interested in the deal, but negotiations were then put on hold due to concerns over the global economy.

Goodman filed for an IPO back in May 2010, but then withdrew its registration later that year while it reportedly explored a trade sale to Daikin and other buyers.

The Daikin deal adds to this year's record number of outbound investments by Japanese companies. The strength of the country's currency has hurt export earnings for local companies but also facilitated a wave of outbound M&A.

In February, Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. became the first companies to receive capital from a $100 billion government fund set up last year to finance overseas acquisitions and minimize the impact of a rising yen.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Industrials
• Exits
• Trade sale
• Japan