(Bloomberg) — ABB Ltd. is exploring a potential sale of the robotics unit, which could be worth more than $3.5 billion, as an alternative to the main spinoff plan, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The Swiss industrial giant is close to appointing advisers for a sale as well as the listing, which it announced last month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.
The business could be worth about $3.5 billion, in line with analyst estimates, or as much as $5 billion, some of the people said. If ABB pursues a sale instead of the preferred option of a spinoff, the unit could attract interest from private equity firms, the people said.
“Should ABB be approached, it is the duty of the executive committee and board to thoroughly evaluate all proposals,” the company said in an emailed statement in response to Bloomberg News query. However, “we believe that a spinoff is the best option to optimize the respective companies’ abilities to create customer value.”
NOTE: ABB to Spin Off Robotics Unit for 2026 Stock-Market Listing (4)
ABB in April said it plans to spin off and list the robotics unit in the second quarter of 2026. It was one of the first major strategic moves by the firm’s new Chief Executive Officer Morten Wierod who took the helm at the company in August last year.
Wierod ran ABB’s flagship electrification business prior to his CEO appointment. The Norwegian executive wants ABB to focus on more profitable units, such as electrification, which is benefiting from soaring investments in data centers that are in demand because of the rise of artificial intelligence.
The robotics unit, run by Marc Segura, accounts for around two thirds of ABB’s robotics and discrete automation division. It employs 7,000 people and runs manufacturing hubs in China, the US and Sweden. The latter is the birthplace of ABB’s robotics business.
ABB also said robotics alone has limited synergies with its other divisions and would benefit from being measured more directly against its peers.
The spinoff, if successful, will see ABB shareholders receive stock in the future listed company. The plan is to list the business in Sweden or Switzerland, though the Swiss manufacturer has not excluded other venues.
