Chinese a/c manufacturer Midea has become the latest to target Europe, by taking an 80 percent stake in Italian firm Clivet. The current shareholders of Clivet, the Bellò family, will retain a 20 percent stake. In turn, Clivet said that the current shareholders will maintain an important minority stake, assuring the successful implementation of the integration process and reinforcing their commitment in developing innovative technologies and solutions.
Midea had revenue of $21 billion in 2015 and has approximately 100,000 employees worldwide.
The partners said the alliance will enable Midea to reinforce its presence in the European markets, and by leveraging each other’s complementary capabilities and resources, the two companies will jointly explore growth opportunities. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary anti-trust clearances in relevant jurisdictions, and is expected before the end of the year.
Eric Tian, president of Midea Commercial Air Conditioning Division, said, “This strategic alliance is a win-win cooperation. The complementary strengths of Midea and Clivet will create significant synergies in product offerings, market presence, supply chain, and manufacturing.”
The partners said that the urgent need to maintain the global temperature increase below 2°C by 2020 “requires a new approach to the HVAC market in order to reduce the environmental impact.” Thus Clivet and Midea, having complementary products, have decided to join forces to serve the market with a more complete and distinct product offering.
Bruno Bellò, president of Clivet, said, “This decision results from the convergence of the strategies of both groups to satisfy changing market needs, driven both by the new norms for environmental sustainability and by the evolution of the competitive landscape with global players.”
The strategic alliance is justified by a strong industrial rationale, the companies said. Midea will leverage Clivet’s know-how in high-efficiency solutions for comfort and air quality to seek growth opportunity where Clivet’s distribution network is not yet present, especially in China and other Asia-Pacific markets; Clivet will join Midea as its European manufacturing platform, enjoying the enlarged product range and service offering from Midea, as well as the efficiency of supply chain and manufacturing.
Bellò added, “Clivet will become a true European center of excellence in developing innovative solutions for total comfort and energy efficiency. The alliance with Midea will unlock industrial synergies and increase the production capacity of Clivet’s Italian plants, granting a solid growth for both the Italian company and its collaborators.”
Content for the European Spotlight is provided courtesy of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine, London. For more information, visit www.racplus.com.
Publication date: 7/18/2016
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