smartbuildingmag.com
14
’22
Written on Modified on
Carel News
CAREL Industries S.p.A., through a subsidiary, entered into a binding agreement to acquire the business of SENVA Inc, (“SENVA”), a US company located in Oregon specialising in the design and manufacture of a wide range of sensors, mainly in the air-conditioning and ventilation sectors, and with a significant presence in indoor air quality. Closing is expected by the end of October 2022.
SENVA, founded in 2007 and based in Beaverton, Oregon, United States, specialises in the design and production of a wide range of sensors (including current, pressure – wet and dry, gas leakage and humidity sensors, to name but a few) chiefly in the air-conditioning and ventilation sectors, and with a specific line dedicated to indoor air quality. SENVA’s offerings include first and foremost a full range of products characterized by high innovation: the know-how ranges from mechanic to software, from electronics to automation. The company covers multiple sales channels, including e-commerce, with a strong presence in the building contracting space and, to a lesser extent, in the OEM and distribution.
In addition to humidification, SENVA also covers numerous applications involving refrigerant circuits in air-conditioning and ventilation: chillers, rooftop units, air-handling units, etc.
SENVA’s revenue in the period ended 31 December 2021 amounted to approximately USD 12.7 million, up 24% year-on-year (and more than double the amount recorded in 2016) with an EBITDA of USD 2.4 million. The company has a production facility of about 2,500 square meters and is in the process of expanding to a new facility (including a new research laboratory) of a larger size (3,250 square meters). The employee force at the end of 2021 was approximately 65.
The transaction is consistent with the strategy of CAREL Group’s activities in recent years, and specifically:
- M&A – the acquisition of SENVA is a further step towards the process of external growth through complementary products in reference applications that began in 2018. The market share gained and additional manufacturing presence in a strategic market such as North America are key elements for the support of local business development.
- Sensors – As in the case of Arion’s acquisition (April 2022), the focus in this area is key to making products more efficient and more connected to their ecosystem, while also facilitating the activation of digital services.
- Synergies – Numerous synergies can be achieved through the integration of CAREL and SENVA. With regard to products, the expanded range will further reinforce the CAREL Group’s vision as a single supplier of diversified solutions for the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) sector; the combination of CAREL’s and SENVA’s know-how will also lead to an increasingly sophisticated product offering (greater connectivity, innovation and customisation) and to covering a significant portion of the application niches currently served (e.g., expansion to the refrigeration sector). In addition, there are significant geographical and commercial advantages. For CAREL this is in fact the first strategic industrial acquisition in the US, and it presents obvious opportunities in terms of cross-selling in Europe/North America and opening up underserved sales channels, such as contractors. Finally, the doubling of SENVA’s production capacity could also be used in the future to expand the production of CAREL-branded items.
The effects of the transaction will also positively reflect on SENVA, which will benefit from the opening to new markets in terms of geography, applications and distribution, leveraging CAREL Group’s commercial strength.
“We are very excited by the deal signed today because it represents our first highly strategic acquisition in the Americas and further confirms our commitment to pursuing our growth objectives through M&A – a commitment that has significantly accelerated over the last 18 months. The acquisition of SENVA underscores the Group’s interest in growing and consolidating its presence in the United States, but is also part of a process of expansion in the advanced sensor sector (which we have been pursuing with the Arion transaction closed in April) that will be increasingly important in the design of energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable machines,” Francesco Nalini CEO of the CAREL Group, commented.
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