Dive Brief:
- Honeywell plans to acquire heat pump maker Sundyne from private equity firm Warburg Pincus for approximately $2.2 billion, the manufacturing conglomerate announced Tuesday.
- The company will be added to Honeywell’s energy and sustainability solutions segment in an effort to boost innovation and efficiency as well as support security needs worldwide, according to the release.
- The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 and will add approximately 1,000 employees.
Dive Insight:
Sundyne, established in 1905, is a leading manufacturer of centrifugal pumps and gas compressors used across process industries, according to a company handout. Outside of the U.S., the Arvada, Colorado-based company has sites in the UK, France, Spain, Japan and India.
With Sundyne’s customer relationships, products and technology, Honeywell said the company will potentially grow its universal oil product value chains in the refining and petrochemicals, liquefied natural gas and clean and renewable fuels industries.
The acquisition will also lead to improved product offerings, the company said. It plans to use the internet-connected platform Honeywell Forge to facilitate digitizing Sundyne’s equipment to improve reliability and predictive maintenance.
Honeywell will also leverage its research and development capabilities to accelerate the creation of new pump and compressor space products.
“The combination of Sundyne and Honeywell will add significant value for our customers, channel partners and employees,” Sundyne's CEO Mary Zappone said in a statement. “There are numerous benefits that we can achieve together with Honeywell that will accelerate growth and improve efficiency for customers.”
Honeywell’s latest acquisition aligns with its plans to streamline its portfolio as it shifts focus to automation, aviation technology and clean energy. The conglomerate’s strategy includes spinning off its advanced materials, automation and aerospace businesses into three independent public companies by 2026.
Honeywell also made several acquisitions over the past year with the goal of driving growth in those three priority areas. In September 2024, the company completed its $1.81 billion acquisition of Air Products’ liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment business. The portfolio is now under Honeywell’s ESS business.
A J.P Morgan global research report projects global LNG supply capacity to increase by 350 billion cubic meters by 2030, driven by increasing liquefaction capacity from North America and Qatar. The report also forecasts that the U.S. is set to become the largest LNG exporter in the world and will produce more than a third of the LNG supply by 2030.
The U.S. boom is attributed in part to low construction costs and skilled labor, favorable elements that help build out new LNG facilities.
“The country has gone from effectively producing zero LNG in 2015 to 86 million tons in 2023, with more projects in various stages of construction underway,” Tarek Hamid, head of North American Corporate Credit Research at J.P. Morgan, said in the report.
