Emerson to buy Pentair unit for US$3.15bn

US manufacturer Emerson Electric has agreed to buy international industrial company Pentair’s Swiss-based valves and controls business for US$3.15bn.

For Emerson, the acquisition expands its presence in control, isolation, pressure relief valves and actuation. The transaction follows the company’s recent announcement to divest its network power unit as part of a larger strategy initiated in 2015 to sell its motors, drives and electric power generation and control techniques units for a total of US$5.2bn, in order to shift toward automation.

The valves and controls unit has nearly 7,500 employees and the business has a strong base in the chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, power and mining industries. It also controls brands such as Anderson-Greenwood, Crosby, Vanessa, Keystone and Biffi. Pentair acquired the unit in 2012 through a merger with the flow control business of Tyco International.

Once the transaction is complete, Pentair intends to focus resources on its remaining three segments of water quality systems, flow and filtration solutions, and technical solutions for water quality and availability, equipment and building protection, industrial and process efficiency, and food and beverage processing.

The transaction is anticipated to be completed late in 2016 or early in 2017, subject to regulatory approvals.