Brookfield nearing deal for JCI unit, sources say
Brookfield Asset Management is nearing a deal to buy Johnson Controls International’s auto-battery business, according to people familiar with the matter.
JCI, which hired Centerview Partners to run a sale process for the unit in March, could announce a deal as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. No final deal has been reached and talks may fall apart or another bidder may emerge, they said.
The business could fetch more than US$12 billion, people familiar with the matter said in July.
JCI rose as much as 4.4 per cent Monday in New York trading. Its shares closed little changed — down 0.1 per cent — at US$31.28 against the backdrop of the 0.7-per-cent decline of the Standard & Poor’s 500. Brookfield fell 0.8 per cent in New York.
Representatives for JCI and Brookfield declined to comment.
A deal would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts of 2018, as private equity firms look to put large amounts of capital to work.
In January, Blackstone Group agreed to buy a majority stake in Thomson Reuters Corp.’s financial and risk operations in a deal valued at US$17 billion. KKR & Co. agreed in June to buy Envision Healthcare in a deal valued at US$9.9 billion, including debt.
Cork, Ireland-based JCI decided to sell the automotive battery unit to focus on its building management business. It spun off its automotive seat maker, Adient, in 2016.