By Michael Calia
The Carlyle Group said Monday it had agreed to acquire Tyco
International Ltd.'s South Korean security business for $1.93
billion in cash.
The Wall Street Journal had reported last week that the two
companies were in late-stage talks over the unit.
Carlyle called the deal the largest private equity buyout deal
in U.S. dollar value in Korea since 2008, representing a big step
up in the firm's recent interest in South Korea. Through Dec. 31,
Carlyle said it had invested more than $920 million in equity in 17
transactions in the country.
Tyco, due to land $1.85 billion in net cash proceeds from the
deal, said the deal would have a five-cent impact on its per-share
earnings from continuing operations in the fiscal second quarter.
The company now projects a range of 39 cents to 41 cents, down from
its previous range of 44 cents to 46 cents.
The South Korean business, called ADT Korea, provides security
services to about 475,000 commercial and residential customers, and
it employs about 7,500 people. Tyco first bought a 68.5% stake in
the company in 1999 and then delisted it from Korea's Kosdaq market
after acquiring the remainder later that year.
With the latest move, Tyco sharpened its focus on its core
business dealing with safety equipment as well as fire-suppression
systems for commercial buildings. In 2012, Tyco spun off its North
American security business to create ADT Corp. It also split off
its pipe-and-valve business, then merged it with Pentair Inc.
Carlyle, meanwhile, is coming off a successful fourth quarter,
in which the firm's results exceeded expectations. It had been
competing for the Tyco business with several other large U.S.
private-equity firms, according to a previous Wall Street Journal
report.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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