On July 23, 2024, S&C client Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) announced its plans to take over the global heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions business for residential and light commercial buildings from Johnson Controls.
As part of this transaction, Bosch also intends to acquire 100 percent of the Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning (JCH) joint venture, including Hitachi’s 40 percent stake. The purchase price for the acquired businesses is $8 billion dollars (€7.4 billion).
The Bosch shareholders and supervisory board have already approved the transaction, which is expected to close in 12 months subject to regulatory approval.
This is the biggest transaction in Bosch’s history. It will accelerate the company’s growth, nearly double its sales revenue in the dynamic HVAC market to roughly €9 billion and expand the company’s presence in the U.S. and Asia.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services.
S&C advised our client Bosch with a global team on all Corporate, Tax, Intellectual Property, Executive Compensation, Environmental and Antitrust aspects of this landmark transaction. The team is led by Carsten Berrar, Scott Crofton, Frank Aquila and Konstantin Technau and includes Stephan Rauch, Mitchell Friedman, Elizabeth Levin, Frederic Dreher and Molly Mueller on the corporate side. Davis Wang, Alexei Owen and James Jang advised on tax matters. Mehdi Ansari, RuiHui (Rachel) Yu, Man Wing Elizabeth Cheung and Shray Gupta advised on intellectual property matters. Jeannette Bander and Rebecca M. Rabinowitz handled executive compensation matters. Matthew J. Brennan advised on environmental matters. Renata Hesse, Michael Rosenthal, Eric H. Queen, Bradley P. Smith, Kolja I. Ortmann and Penelope A. Bergkamp advised on antitrust matters.