Carrier Global to sell commercial refrigeration business to Haier

(Reuters) -Carrier Global said on Wednesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its global commercial refrigeration business to its joint venture partner Haier for an enterprise value of $775 million.

The air conditioner maker, which is looking to streamline its portfolio, said the enterprise value also includes about $200 million of net pension liabilities.

Carrier's commercial refrigeration has more than 4,000 employees globally and includes brands such as Profroid, Celsior and Green & Cool. Its refrigeration unit accounted for about 19% of its total sales last year.

The Florida-based company said its Transicold transport refrigeration, Sensitech and Lynx digital cold chain platform were not included in the transaction announced on Wednesday.

"The acquisition will help ... the company ... in expanding its presence to food retail refrigeration and cold storage," said Haier's CEO Li Huagang.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, Carrier said, adding that BofA Securities was acting as its financial advisor.

Carrier said it expected net proceeds from the transaction to exceed $500 million and intended to use them to reduce debt.

Last week, U.S. industrial firm Honeywell said it would buy Carrier's security unit for $4.95 billion in cash to bulk up its building safety business.

In April, Carrier had agreed to buy German industrial firm Viessmann Group's unit that makes heating boilers and heat pumps in a 12 billion euros ($13.05 billion) cash-and-stock deal.

Shares of Carrier have risen more than 35% this year, as of last close.

($1 = 0.9197 euros)

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)