Successfully completed: the largest acquisition in the company’s history
Stuttgart – The Bosch Group reaches the next milestone in its corporate strategy 2030 and is consistently focusing on growth. The company has successfully completed the largest acquisition in its history. The acquisition of the residential and light commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) business from Johnson Controls and the acquisition of the Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning joint venture were completed as scheduled on July 31. The contracts were signed roughly one year ago. “With the largest acquisition in our company history, we are accelerating our growth, expanding our global footprint, and balancing our business by strengthening our energy and building technology – this makes Bosch more powerful and robust, in line with our corporate strategy 2030,” says Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management. The purchase price of 8 billion U.S. dollars (7.4 billion euros) is subject to customary adjustments.
With the acquisition, the Bosch Home Comfort division almost doubles in size to over 25,000 associates and more than 8 billion euros in sales. Bosch is thus significantly expanding its presence, especially in America and Asia, and becoming one of the largest suppliers in the market for heating, ventilation, and cooling of residential and small commercial buildings worldwide. “The entire HVAC industry is in a state of upheaval, and the market and technologies are changing. Bosch is systematically taking advantage of its opportunities and is now moving up to the Champions League in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions business,” says Hartung
Ambitious goals, strong brands
With the new lineup, Home Comfort wants to grow significantly faster than the global HVAC market. According to Bosch estimates, this will increase by up to 5 percent every year until 2030. “Bosch wants to be one of the leading companies in each of its industries by 2030 and is expanding its business with strategic investments in growth areas, among other things. Acquisitions are also part of the strategy,” says Christian Fischer, deputy chairman of the board of management and responsible for strategic growth initiatives and portfolio management. “The current acquisition perfectly complements our portfolio. We can now offer our customers the entire range of HVAC technologies – from a single source and worldwide.” The acquisition also includes strategically important company investments and joint venture interests, among other things, in component manufacturers and sales partners. These investments are expected to make a significant contribution to the financial result of Home Comfort in the future.
The market for air conditioning solutions is growing worldwide
The current acquisition means that Bosch is positioning itself much more broadly – especially for air conditioning solutions. With its large product portfolio, international presence, and the sales channels of the purchased units, the company is tapping into attractive growth prospects. According to Bosch analyses, the global market for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems amounted to more than 150 billion euros in 2024. Air conditioning systems alone accounted for two-thirds of this. Demand will continue to increase significantly in the coming years, owing to global warming as well as other factors. According to Bosch’s forecast, sales of air conditioning units worldwide are expected to increase to more than 200 million units per year by 2030, almost a fifth more than in 2024.
“We want to help shape this market – and use energy-efficient solutions to ensure that people can make their everyday lives comfortable and healthy, even on increasingly hotter days, whether at home, at work, or while shopping,” says Frank Meyer, who is responsible for energy and building technology and thus also for the Home Comfort division at Bosch. According to calculations by the International Energy Agency from 2018, a global temperature increase of only one degree Celsius by 2050 will already increase the need for cooling worldwide by 25 percent. However, climate researchers are already anticipating significantly greater global warming.
Business has a regional basis
David Budzinski, previously president of residential and light commercial at Johnson Controls and CEO of the Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning joint venture, will be appointed to the global executive board of the division. He assumes responsibility for the Americas region and becomes deputy to Jan Brockmann. Ulrich Lissmann, who is also joining the global executive board, will be responsible for Asia-Pacific. Nora Klug, previously General Counsel of the Bosch Group, will assume the role of chief people and governance officer. As chief transformation officer, Oliver Koukal will take care of the integration of the acquired business, which he has already been responsible for as project manager. The current members of the executive management Thomas Volz and Birte Luebbert will continue to be members of the global executive board. Thomas Volz will be chief financial officer, Birte Luebbert will serve as chief operating officer.
Press photos and Infocharts are available on the Bosch Media Service.