Emerson to sell power transmission business to Regal Beloit

(Adds details, background, shares)

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Emerson Electric Co said it would sell its power transmission unit to Regal Beloit Corp, a maker of electric motors, for $1.44 billion as it streamlines its business.

Regal Beloit's shares rose 6 percent premarket on Monday on the deal, the company's biggest acquisition.

Emerson said in June that it was evaluating strategic options for the unit to focus on high-growth areas.

Regal Beloit was competing with ball bearings maker Timken Co, brake and clutch maker Altra Industrial Motion and private equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and Onex Corp for the business.

The deal comprises $1.4 billion in cash and assumption of certain post-retirement liabilities, Emerson said.

The power transmission business, housed in Emerson's industrial automation business, makes couplings, bearings and gearing components under brands such as Browning, Kop-Flex, Rollway and Sealmaster.

The unit had revenue of more than $600 million in 2014 and employed more than 3,000 people, Emerson said.

Regal Beloit said the business would complement the manufacturing processes for its electric motors, mechanical and electrical motion controls and power generation products.

The company said it expected the deal, likely to close in the first quarter of 2015, to add between $0.40 and $0.60 per share to its earnings in 2015.

Robert W Baird advised to Regal Beloit on the deal.

Regal Beloit's shares were trading at $75, while Emerson's shares were slightly up at $59.87 premarket. Up to Friday's close, Emerson's shares had fallen about 17 percent this year, while Regal Beloit's fell 7 percent.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)