ABB to sell Robotics division to SoftBank for $5.4 billion
ABB has signed an agreement to sell its Robotics division to Japan’s SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of USD 5.375 billion, ending its earlier plan to spin off the business into a separate listed company.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
ABB Chairman Peter Voser said the offer from SoftBank was carefully assessed and reflects the long-term strengths of the Robotics business. The divestment, he added, will create immediate value for shareholders, with proceeds to be used in line with ABB’s 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,” Voser says in the press release.
Chief Executive Morten Wierod said SoftBank would provide “an excellent new home” for the division and its employees, highlighting shared ambitions in the emerging field of AI-based robotics. He added that combining ABB’s industrial expertise with SoftBank’s capabilities in AI and next-generation computing will strengthen the business’s position as a technology leader.
SoftBank’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son described the deal as part of the company’s next strategic focus on “Physical AI,” aimed at integrating artificial intelligence and robotics to “drive a groundbreaking evolution that will propel humanity forward.”
"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," says Son.
ABB Robotics employs roughly 7,000 people. The division generated USD 2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, representing around 7% of ABB Group’s total, with an operational EBITA margin of 12.1%.
