The Atlantic group, the French number one in heat pumps, announced that it had been officially acquired by the Japanese-American group Paloma Rheem, in accordance with an agreement signed at the end of 2025.
THE Atlantic group, French specialist in heat pumps and thermal comfortcomes under the control of Paloma Rheem Holdings, as part of an operation estimated at more than 3 billion euros. A strategic transaction which takes place while the carbon-free heating market has become a major industrial issue in Europe.
A strategic merger to create a global giant
The Vendée company announces a “acquisition of majority stake” from Paloma Rheem Holdings to its captainL. In his press release, Groupe Atlantic explains that this alliance “brings together two perfectly complementary players on the geographical, technological and industrial levelsel” and should allow the new ensemble to establish itself as a leader world of the sector of the heat pump and thermal comfort.
The rapprochement is not completely new. The two groups have already maintained close industrial links for more than thirty years through the distribution of Fujitsu General products in France and the Benelux. This long-standing cooperation has helped to gradually bring the two manufacturers closer together.
Based in La Roche-sur-Yon, Atlantic Group has established itself as one of the European heavyweights in thermal comfort thanks to its Atlantic, Thermor and Sauter brands. The company employs 12,000 people, operates 31 industrial sites around the world and generates nearly 3 billion euros in turnover.
For his part, Paloma Rheem had around 19,000 employees at the end of 2024 and has a particularly strong international presence in the North American and Asian markets.
Bercy vigilant in a strategic sector
The operation quickly attracted the attention of the French public authorities. Heat pumps have become a pillar of the energy transition as well as the heating decarbonization strategy in Europe, making Atlantic file a sensitive subject for the executive: Bercy had thus indicated to follow “very close” this takeover by the Japanese-American group.
According to Atlantic Groupthe transaction was subject to the control of foreign investments in France and resulted in an economic agreement with the State. In this context, Paloma Rheem has made several commitments intended to preserve French industrial interests. The group promises in particular to maintain research and development activities as well as intellectual property in the territory. The commitments also relate to the development in France of the production of heat pumps and thermodynamic water heatersbut also on the maintenance of jobs as well as the group’s training centers.
To further reassure, Groupe Atlantic emphasizes that its head office will remain in France and that the company will retain broad operational autonomy within Paloma Rheem. Some of the historic shareholders also remain in the capital while the current management team remains in place.
