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Honeywell, a global automated product development and production company（Honeywell International Inc.）Announced on Friday that they have agreed to acquire a warehouse automation system service provider and a privately held company for $1.5 billion in cashIntelligrated。
As a diversified high-tech and manufacturing enterprise, Honeywell's business involves aviation products and services, industrial automation control technology, automotive products, turbochargers, and special materials. Honeywell completed its acquisition of Intelligent from global investment firm Permira, whose clients include UPS, Amazon, and Nordstrom, a high-end US department store chain。
In recent years, warehouse automation service providers have become popular acquisition targets, mainly due to the rapid development of the online shopping industry, which has forced many retailers to engage in a logistics arms race. On the one hand, in order to reduce costs, on the other hand, it helps its distribution centers achieve profitability。
Alex Ismail, Chief Executive of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions, said：
“The e-commerce industry is still developing at an unprecedented pace, and customers are increasingly demanding the timeliness of express delivery. This inevitably puts forward higher demands for logistics warehouses. We need to create a warehouse, logistics, and distribution solution to improve production efficiency while reducing costs for our customers。
In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva System Inc. for $775 million, a robotics design and development company that developed Kiva handling robots that can be deployed in warehouses and move entire product shelves from one area of the warehouse to another. At that time, this acquisition was one of the largest single acquisitions by online retailers, and Kiva robots were later specifically integrated into Amazon's warehouses。
It is worth mentioning that the recent acquisition of two other logistics technology companies has attracted widespread attention, with acquisition amounts exceeding $1 billion! In May of this year, there were reports that Chinese home appliance manufacturer Midea Group planned to acquire German robot manufacturer Kuka AG for $5 billion, which specializes in developing lightweight robots that can be applied in manufacturing factories and warehouses. However, this acquisition has not yet been completed. In June, German forklift manufacturer Kion Goup AG announced its acquisition of Dematic Corp., an American company that specializes in designing supply chain software that can be deployed in warehouses to help improve logistics operational efficiency, for $2 billion。
The headquarters of Intelligent Company is located in Mason, Ohio, USA. It was established in 2001 and currently employs over 3100 people worldwide, with branches in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and China. Investment company Permira acquired Intelligent Company for $500 million in 2012, and the company currently has annual sales of approximately $900 million.
Honeywell stated that the acquisition transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. The industrial giant also revealed earlier this week that Dave Cote, the current CEO of Intelligent, will step down at the end of March next year, successfully completing his 14 year term within the company.
source：http://36kr.com/p/5048970.html
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