Fujitsu kicks off auction for air conditioning business - sources (updated)

Fujitsu General

19/01/2023 14:38

(Adds context)
    By Kane Wu and Makiko Yamazaki
       HONG KONG/TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Fujitsu Ltd  6702.T 
has launched an auction process for its listed air-conditioning
manufacturing business Fujitsu General Ltd  6755.T  with initial
bids due on Friday, people with knowledge of the matter said.
    The sale is expected to attract interest from multiple
private equity firms and strategic investors, said the people,
who declined to identified as the talks are private.
    Lazard Ltd  LAZ.N  is advising Fujitsu General and UBS Group
AG  UBSG.S  is advising Fujitsu, two of the people said.
    Fujitsu General, with 390 billion yen ($3 billion) market
value as of Thursday, expects its operating profit to more than
double to 18 billion yen in the year ending this March.
    UBS declined to comment. Fujitsu General could not be
reached for immediate comment out of office hours. Lazard did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Fujitsu has said it plans to sell its 42% stake in Fujitsu
General, as the Japanese electronics conglomerate accelerates a
business overhaul. A Fujitsu spokesperson said the company
cannot comment further.
    The practice of listing subsidiaries has been under pressure
from regulators in Japan, as critics say it is fundamentally
unfair to minority shareholders, whose interests are inevitably
subordinated to those of the parent.
    The auction comes after Fujitsu had long sought potential
buyers for Fujitsu General, including Germany's Bosch  ROBG.UL ,
two of the people said.
($1 = 128.4900 yen)
 (Reporting by Kane Wu in HONG KONG and Makiko Yamazaki in
TOKYO; Additional reporting by Mayu Sakoda
Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jane Merriman)
 ((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2805;))