ABB to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank Group

ABB has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of 5.375 billion dollars, deciding not to proceed with its previous intention to carve out the division and list it as a separate company. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

“SoftBank’s offer has been carefully evaluated by the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, and compared with our original intention to proceed with a spin-off. It reflects the division’s long-term strengths and the divestment will create immediate value for ABB’s shareholders. ABB will use the proceeds from the transaction in line with its established capital allocation principles. Our ambitions for ABB remain unchanged: we will continue to focus on our long-term strategy, based on our leading positions in Electrification and Automation,” said Peter Voser, Chairman of ABB.

“SoftBank will be an excellent new home for the business and its employees. ABB and SoftBank share the same vision: the world is entering a new era of AI-based robotics, and we believe the division and SoftBank’s robotics offering can together best shape this new era. ABB Robotics will benefit from the combination of its leading technology and deep industrial experience with SoftBank’s advanced capabilities in AI, robotics and next-generation computing. This will enable the business to strengthen and expand its position as a technology leader in its sector”, continued Morten Wierod, ABB’s CEO.

“SoftBank’s next frontier is ‘Physical AI’. Together with ABB Robotics we will unite world-class technologies and talent under a shared vision: to fuse Super Artificial Intelligence with robotics, driving a revolutionary evolution that will advance humanity,” added Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group.

Following the signing of the agreement, ABB will adjust its reporting structure, moving to three business areas. From the fourth quarter of 2025, the Robotics division will be reported as “Discontinued operations”. The Machine Automation division, which currently together with Robotics forms the Robotics & Discrete Automation business area, will become part of the Process Automation business area. Upon closing, the disposal will result in a non-operating pre-tax accounting gain of approximately 2.4 billion dollars, with expected proceeds, net of transaction costs, of around 5.3 billion dollars. Estimated separation costs are about 200 million dollars, roughly half of which are already included in the 2025 outlook. ABB’s current estimate for tax outflows related to the local separation of the business is between 400 million dollars and 500 million dollars.