Caterpillar Looking at Acquisitions for 2015 Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the world’s largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, is looking at potential acquisitions for next year. “We’ve got lots of capital to deploy, which I would rather use growing the business if we possible can,” Doug Oberhelman, chairman and chief executive officer, said today on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop with Betty Liu.” “We’ve got a number of very small growth opportunities that we are looking at,” he said. In 2015, “we’ll probably do a couple of those but in terms of anything big it’s a pretty small chance.” Caterpillar recently looked at a multibillion-dollar business, Ann Duignan, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a Dec. 15 report after meeting with Oberhelman and other senior executives. Any deals will be focused on mining, oil and gas and electric power, Duignan said. Caterpillar has “stayed away” from acquisitions of companies serving the energy industry in the last few years because valuations were high, Oberhelman said today. Those kind of deals may now come into play more in the next two years after the recent drop in oil prices, he said. Caterpillar doesn’t have a specific target or deal in mind, he said. The Peoria, [...] ilinnews/caterpillar-looking-at-acquisitions-for-2015-182/
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:17:51 +0000