By Amy-Jo Crowley, Andres Gonzalez and Anousha Sakoui
LONDON (Reuters) -Johnson Controls International is considering the sale of its ADT alarms business as it offloads some non-core businesses, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The unit of the New York-listed building manufacturer operates in Europe and Latin America and has already drawn interest from private equity funds, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The preparations are at an early stage and a sale process could happen towards the end of the year, one of the people said.
Shares of Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) International rose after the news, trading at $61.81, up 1.7% at 1437 GMT.
The alarms unit could fetch a valuation of less than $1 billion in the event of a sale, the person said. Johnson Controls does not break down financials for the unit.
"We constantly evaluate ways to improve our business and serve our customers better; however, we don't comment on rumor or market speculation," a spokesperson for Johnson Control told Reuters.
The alarms business sits under Johnson's Building Solutions European and Latin American segment, which saw sales increase by 3% to $1.1 billion in its most recent quarter, according to its latest results.
That business saw adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jump by 29% to $89 million in the period.
Johnson Controls has been attempting to divest its portfolio of heating and ventilation assets as part of its efforts to offload non-core businesses.
Reuters reported in March that Robert Bosch GmbH, Lennox International and Samsung Electronics (LON:0593xq) were among the industrial firms competing to buy these assets.
Johnson Controls makes a range of appliances and equipment for commercial buildings and homes. Founded in 1885, the group inherited the fire and security business after its merger with Tyco International in 2016.