Daikin Industries Ltd., the world's largest air conditioner maker, will acquire U.S. rival Goodman Global Inc. for about ¥290 billion, the company said Wednesday.
With the acquisition, the Japanese company, which faces fierce competition from Chinese manufacturers, will try to increase its sales in the Americas.
Daikin, based in the city of Osaka, is planning to obtain almost all shares of Goodman, which is now owned by a U.S. fund, the company said.
For the acquisition to be completed as soon as this fiscal year, which will end in March, the company will use cash reserves and proceeds from a bond issue, as well as a low-interest loan from the governmental Japan Bank for International Cooperation, they said.
Daikin negotiated the acquisition of Goodman first in 2010 and nullified the deal in consideration of economic uncertainties after the devastating earthquake and tsunami last year.
But the yen's appreciation against the dollar has prompted the company to decide on the acquisition, the sources said.
In the U.S., Daikin predominantly supplies large-scale air conditioners for customers in the commercial sector, and sales of household systems are relatively limited. Goodman boasts strong sales of household air conditioners in North and Latin America.
Founded in 1924, Daikin began as a manufacturer of aircraft radiator tubes and fluorine refrigerants, and entered the air conditioning business in 1951, according to the firm's website.