Fujitsu General’s US$1.1 billion stake sale said to stall

THE sale of Fujitsu’s majority stake in its air-conditioner manufacturing unit has stalled as the bidders have been unable to agree on a price with the Japanese firm, according to people familiar with the matter.

A rise in the shares of Fujitsu General has weighed on the negotiations for the 42 per cent stake, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Shares of Fujitsu General slumped as much as 10.3 per cent in Tokyo after the Bloomberg News report. That’s the biggest intraday decline since January 2018. Still, the stock was up 40 per cent in the past 12 months, valuing the company at about 355 billion yen (S$3.46 billion) and the stake at around US$1.1 billion. Fujitsu shares fell 1.8 per cent on Friday (May 19).

No final decisions have been made and discussions could resume anytime, the people said. Fujitsu could still look for other suitors for the assets, one of the people said.

Japanese IT firm Fujitsu had been in talks with potential suitors including private equity firms Bain Capital and KKR & Co. and Swedish manufacturer Nibe Industrier, Bloomberg News reported in February. Nibe said in March it decided not to go forward with the process of evaluating a potential acquisition of all or a majority of Fujitsu General.

“It is true that we are considering various ways to maximise value as an independent business, but nothing has been decided at this time,” a representative for Fujitsu said, declining to comment on the details. Representatives for Bain, Fujitsu General and KKR declined to comment.

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Fujitsu, which in its heyday made everything from laptops and supercomputers to chips, mobile phones and home appliances, has hived off much of its consumer product lineup to focus on communications and information technology systems for businesses. The company had been aiming for a quick sale of its entire stake in the air-conditioner maker as it sheds non-core operations. BLOOMBERG