Ingersoll-Rand to Buy Unit of Westinghouse

Ingersoll-Rand Co. said Monday it has agreed to buy Westinghouse Electric Corp.’s Thermo King business for $2.56 billion in cash, a deal that would give it the largest maker of refrigerators used in trucks and trains.

The move would also expand Ingersoll-Rand’s lineup of industrial equipment, such as compressors, pumps and generators. It is part of Westinghouse’s push to shed its industrial operations and focus on the CBS television network and radio stations.

The purchase fits Ingersoll-Rand’s strategy of increasing sales overseas, which accounts for almost half of Thermo King’s revenue. The company’s expertise in other industrial products--it’s the largest maker of air compressors, for instance--can help bolster Thermo King’s sales, analysts said.

Shares of Ingersoll-Rand fell 81 cents to close at $39.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. Westinghouse’s shares rose 6 cents to close at $25.56, also on the NYSE.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based Ingersoll-Rand said the purchase, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, will add to its 1998 earnings.

The Thermo King sale would give Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse an important source of cash as it prepares to split its broadcasting and industrial companies later this year.