ABB, Zurich, Switzerland, has signed an agreement to divest the Thomas & Betts heating, ventilation and air conditioning business for $260 million in an all-cash transaction to Nortek, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTK), Providence, RI. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

ABB is divesting this business because of limited synergies with its core portfolio. ABB will continue to supply electrical motors, drives and low voltage products to the HVAC industry.

The divestment is in line with our strategy to continuously optimize our portfolio and to focus our efforts on driving profitable growth in our core automation and power businesses, said Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB’s CEO.

HVAC has delivered strong performance and its employees and customers will benefit from the focus and investment of Nortek, a specialist in this area,” said Chuck Treadway, Thomas & Betts CEO. “Acquiring this business will enable Nortek to extend its residential heating and cooling business into the adjacent segments of the commercial HVAC market.