Honeywell Makes E-Commerce Bet -- WSJ
July 02 2016 - 2:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Joshua Jamerson and Robbie Whelan
Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. said on
Friday it has agreed to acquire Intelligrated, a privately held
supplier of warehouse automation systems, for $1.5 billion in
cash.
Intelligrated, which Honeywell is buying from global investment
firm Permira, includes as its customers United Parcel Service Inc.,
Amazon.com Inc. and Nordstrom Inc.
Manufacturers of warehouse automation have emerged as hot
takeover targets in recent years, as the growth of online shopping
has sparked an arms race among retailers to cut costs and modernize
their distribution centers.
"E-commerce continues to grow at an unprecedented rate and
customer demands for faster delivery times have created a need for
warehouse, logistics and fulfillment solutions that can increase
productivity and lower costs for our customers," said Alex Ismail,
chief executive of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions.
In 2012, Amazon paid $775 million for Kiva Systems Inc., which
designs and builds robots that transport entire shelves of products
from one part of a warehouse to another. The deal was one of the
online retailer's largest individual acquisitions to date, and
Kiva's robots have since been integrated exclusively into Amazon's
warehouses.
Two other recent deals have brought logistics-technology firms
wider attention. more than $5 billion
In May, Chinese appliance maker Midea Group Co. offered more
than $5 billion for Germany's Kuka AG, which specializes in
building lightweight robots that can be used in factories and
warehouses. The deal has yet to be completed. And in June, German
forklift manufacturer Kion Goup AG announced it had struck a $2.1
billion deal for Dematic Corp., an American company that designs
supply-chain software and equipment to make warehouses more
efficient.
Intelligrated, based in Mason, Ohio, was founded in 2001 and
currently employs more than 3,100 people in the U.S., Canada,
Mexico, Brazil and China. Permira paid about $500 million to
acquire the company in 2012.
Honeywell, which put Intelligrated's annual sales at about $900
million, said the transaction is expected to close by the end of
the third quarter. The industrial conglomerate said earlier this
week that Chief Executive Dave Cote would step down at the end of
March, capping a 14-year tenure.
Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com and Robbie
Whelan at robbie.whelan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 02, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024