爱默生一直在大举收购,和它’s not done yet. Even as it works toward final close of its acquisition of Textron Tools & Test, the automation supplier has announced agreement on another purchase—this time Aventics, a key player in smart pneumatics technologies, particularly within factory automation. Emerson has agreed to acquireAventicsfrom private equity firmTritonfor a cash purchase price of €527 million ($621 million).
“This is an acquisition that we’ve looked at for many, many years,” said David Farr, Emerson’s chairman and CEO. “And fortunately, the private equity owner decided to allow us to buy the company.”
It’s been a little more than a year since Emerson completed its acquisition of Pentair’s Valves & Controls business. It then completed its acquisition of Paradigm at the end of last year and Cooper Atkins in January this year. All of these help Emerson to fill out its technology pyramid—shown above, spanning across process, hybrid and discrete industries and layered with devices/instruments/sensors, control technologies and data management.
Farr在电话会议上引用了金字塔图表，解释了Aventics如何适应该公司现有技术。他说：“与我们最近所做的工具采集一样，这与技术金字塔相吻合 - 适合设备/仪器/传感器区域，适合混合/离散市场。”“这确实与我们今天拥有的ASCO和全混杂业务有很好的联系。它确实涉及整个解决方案软件包，并实际上适合我们将工业互联网带给客户的智能PlantWeb策略。”
As a key player in smart pneumatics technologies that power machine and factory automation applications, Aventics plays firmly in the discrete space, which accounts for 66 percent of its business. Another 23 percent goes to industrial applications, and 11 percent hybrid industries. Already a leader in fluid automation technologies for process and industrial applications, the Aventics acquisition significantly expands the Emerson’s reach in that growing $13 billion market. “It is very complementary,” Farr said. “It fits nicely with our $1.5 billion business that we have in this space right now.”
Aventics builds upon Emerson’s capabilities and offerings in key discrete and hybrid automation markets, including food and beverage, packaging, automotive assembly and medical equipment. “We both have a nice little piece in the hybrid side, and I think over time we’ll move them even further into that process hybrid marketplace,” Farr said. “It’s a good growing market. As we look at this automation space, it’s around 3-5 percent market growth. I firmly believe that, with our technologies and global reach, that we could add a point of incremental growth in this.”
Farr预计，Aventics的增加将使Emerson在全球气动市场（Behind SMC和Festo）中排名第三。法尔说：“不同之处在于，我们实际上比其他任何人都具有更大的功能。”“我们将拥有一个很好的位置，因为我们将在这个空间周围拥有很多传感器，我们将在这个空间周围控制。那两个球员没有那个。”
艾默生计划和开发高级副总裁马克·布兰达（Mark Bulanda）增加了更多背景。“还有一种趋势，即流体控制与气动方面的更多组合。ASCO是如此的全球特许经营权，其在流体控制方面的实力确实会发挥为向客户提供更多包装。”他说。“因此，我们看到我们可以继续对市场上的SMC，Festos和市场其他竞争对手的竞争者继续发展。”
With central offices in Laatzen, Germany, more than a third of Aventics’ business comes from Germany, another third coming from the rest of Europe. “With Aventics, we will gain a valuable footprint in Germany, a key market for automation technology and investment,” said Mike Train, executive president of Emerson Automation Solutions.
Emerson’s Fluid & Motion Control business currently holds just 6 percent of its sales in Germany. Half is based in the Americas. Combining Aventics with Emerson provides a much better geographic balance for both companies.
特里顿（Triton）于2013年12月从博世购买了Aventics（当时称为Rexroth Pneumatics），在Bosch Rexroth中，这是一项非核心努力。特里顿（Triton）在此期间投资了其增长，而Aventics在一年多前就购买了Vector Horizon Technology。Aventics在全球25,000多个客户提供服务，包括Bosch，Volkswagen，Volvo，Caterpillar和Siemens。
"We would like to thank the management team, the employees and all other stakeholders for their contributions to Aventics’ successful development during Triton’s ownership. Triton has been the owner of Aventics for more than four years, and we view this as an appropriate time for a long-term industrial owner to continue the development of Aventics,” said Peder Prahl, director of the general partner to the Triton fund. “This partnership will open new opportunities for both companies.”
预计收购将在2018财年第四季度结束，但要获得监管部门的批准，Aventics的必要咨询和其他习惯结案条件。
Though Farr said all hands are on deck right now to close the Textron Tools & Test acquisition and get Aventics approved and closed, Emerson isn’t nearly finished with acquisitions yet.
The remaining boxes on the pyramid chart give an indication of where Emerson still plans to spend more of its available balance sheet capacity. “I’m not going to tell you names, but clearly we’re giving you an idea of where we’re trying to aim our guns at this point in time as we move forward here,” Farr said, noting again later in the call that Emerson will continue with more bolt-on acquisitions. “Some obviously won’t be as large as this one, but we’re going to continue up and down that righthand side of the pyramid.”
