ABB Ltd., a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation in the field of electrical engineering, attracted Bank of America Corp. and UBS Group AG to conclude a potential deal to separate or sell the robotics division in 2026. This is reported in a press release from ABB.
The decision to spin off the business, which is estimated to cost $3.5 billion, is aimed at restructuring the least profitable division into an independent company for the production of industrial robots and software, taking into account the limited synergistic effect of combining with other divisions.
As a result of the proposed transaction, two companies with a clearer focus and a higher potential for creating long-term value will be created. The robotics division accounts for about two thirds of ABB's entire robotics and discrete automation segment. The production centers are located in China, the USA and Sweden.
The company's management intends to place shares in Sweden or Switzerland in the second quarter of 2026 and focus on more profitable assets, including the energy division amid growing investments in data centers. The profitability of the division increased to 23.2%.
The Robotics division produces industrial robots for the food and automotive industries, as well as mobile robots for logistics centers. The division employs 7,000 people, with revenue of $2.3 billion (7% of total sales). The company operates production centers in Sweden, the United States and China and competes with Japanese companies FANUC Corp., Yaskawa Electric Corp. and Kuka from Midea.
ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) is a Swedish—Swiss multinational corporation in the field of electrical engineering and power engineering. The company was founded as part of the merger of the Swedish company ASEA and the Swiss Brown, Boveri&Cie. ABB includes the sectors of robotics, automated process control systems, energy and electrical equipment. The headquarters are located in Zurich (Switzerland) and Västerås (Sweden).
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