Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck wants to take a close look at the sale of the Viessmann heat pump division to the USA. “We will look at the project as part of the planned test steps and are in talks with the seller and the investor so that the project serves our economy and Germany as a location,” said the Greens politician on Wednesday. The advantages of German energy policy and the profits that would be generated with it should continue to benefit Germany as a business location. German companies in particular have advanced heat pump technology, said Habeck.
“The Viessmann case shows how Robert Habeck’s hasty and complicated heating transition can have a negative impact on the German economy,” said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai to the “Handelsblatt”. “German medium-sized companies must not get under the wheels.” Green party leader Katharina Dröge rejects criticism from the FDP. “If companies with a lot of investment capital now enter this market, then that shows that great growth potential is expected here. It is already clear that the heat transition will be a driver for employment and prosperity,” she told the newspaper.
According to experts, the heat pumps that are important for the heating transition will be built primarily outside of Germany in the future. Even before the sale of the Viessmann air conditioning division to the US manufacturer Carrier, investments were increasingly being made in other European countries, reports the Munich consulting firm S
“The report suggests that Viessmann is reacting to Habeck’s climate policy,” said Marie-Christine Ostermann, President of the “The Family Entrepreneurs” Association, to the “Handelsblatt”. It has been apparent for some time “that Viessmann’s previous core business with gas burners will be virtually banned, while heat pumps will become the standard from the turn of the year, with the high subsidies now attracting international competitors”.
Analysts Florian Moll and Christoph Blepp write that Asian manufacturers are already producing more competitively and, due to the similar technology to air conditioning systems, could realize further synergies in value creation. The market environment in this arms race will become more difficult in the long term, especially for smaller heating manufacturers. An increase in imports is certainly to be expected. “The heat pump will be much more international than the classic gas or oil heating.”
For customers, competition will bring lower device prices in the long term, S
Carrier Global put the price at 12 billion euros, the majority of which will go to the remaining Viessmann Group in cash and 20 percent as a block of shares. According to its own statements, this will thus become one of the largest shareholders in the US group. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The purchase price corresponds to 13 times the operating profit (Ebitda) expected for 2023, Carrier announced on Wednesday night.
Viessmann announced that both sides had agreed on long-term guarantees. Operational redundancies are excluded for three years, important locations are secured for five years and Allendorf an der Eder is set as the headquarters for ten years. 106 million euros are to be distributed to the employees of the division as a special bonus “for 106 years of success”. With the announcement late on Tuesday evening, what several media had already reported about the day from informed circles became a certainty.
Other sources: “Handelsblatt.com” (paid content).
