ABB to Divest Robotics Division to SoftBank Group for $5.4 Billion
ABB has announced it has signed an agreement to divest its Robotics division to SoftBank Group Corp. for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion and not pursue its earlier intention to spin-off the business as a separately listed company. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and further customary closing conditions and is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026.
ABB Robotics is a leader in its industry at the core of secular and future automation trends and as communicated previously, there are limited business and technology synergies between the ABB Robotics business and the remainder of ABB’s businesses, with different demand and market characteristics. The ABB Robotics division has a workforce of approximately 7,000. With 2024 revenues of $2.3 billion it represented about 7 percent of ABB Group revenues and had an Operational EBITA margin of 12.1 percent.
Peter Voser, Chairman of ABB, said: “SoftBank’s offer has been carefully evaluated by the Board and Executive Committee and compared with our original intention for a spin-off. It reflects the long-term strengths of the division, and the divestment will create immediate value to ABB shareholders. ABB will use the proceeds from the transaction in line with its well-established capital allocation principles. Our ambitions for ABB are unchanged and we will continue to focus on our long-term strategy, building on our leading positions in electrification and automation.”
ABB CEO Morten Wierod added: “SoftBank will be an excellent new home for the business and its employees. ABB and SoftBank share the same perspective that the world is entering a new era of AI-based robotics and believe that the division and SoftBank’s robotics offering can best shape this era together. ABB Robotics will benefit from the combination of its leading technology and deep industry expertise with SoftBank’s state-of-the-art capabilities in AI, robotics and next-generation computing. This will allow the business to strengthen and expand its position as a technology leader in its field.”
Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. said: “SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI. Together with ABB Robotics, we will unite world-class technology and talent under our shared vision to fuse Artificial Super Intelligence and robotics —driving a groundbreaking evolution that will propel humanity forward.”
As a result of the signing of the agreement ABB will adjust its reporting structure and move to three business areas. As of the fourth quarter 2025, the Robotics division will be reported as Discontinued operations. At the same time, the Machine Automation division, which together with ABB Robotics currently forms the Robotics & Discrete Automation business area, will become a part of the Process Automation business area. Upon closing, the divestment will result in a non-operational pre-tax book gain of approximately $2.4 billion with expected cash proceeds, net of transaction costs, of approximately $5.3 billion.
In a related development in the robotics and AI space, ABB recently deepened its investment in the vision-AI domain by partnering with and investing in LandingAI, the specialist in generative and visual AI. Through this collaboration, ABB aims to integrate LandingAI’s LandingLens platform into its RobotStudio suite and other software tools, reducing deployment and training time of robotic vision applications by up to 80 percent.
ABB has also announced that Sami Atiya, President Robotics & Discrete Automation business area and Member of the Executive Committee, will leave ABB by the end of 2026 in line with the announced divestment of the Robotics division to SoftBank Group.
ABB CEO Morten Wierod said: “Since joining ABB almost 10 years ago, Sami has played an instrumental role in building a robotics business that covers everything from industrial robots to state-of-the-art collaborative and autonomous mobile robots, backed by some of the most advanced software and AI solutions. He has played a key role across ABB in establishing AI as an important driver of how we create value for customers and other stakeholders. We thank Sami for his outstanding contribution to the success of our company and wish him all the best for both his professional and personal future endeavors.”
For more information: new.abb.com
