One of the world’s largest industrial automation providers is changing owners. The ABB Group has said it is divesting its ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation division to SoftBank Group Corp. for $5.375 billion.
The Zurich-based company had announced plans to spin off the unit during an earnings call in April. At the time, it noted that orders and revenues had fallen sharply from 2023 to early 2025.
With 2024 revenues of $2.3 billion, ABB Group said ABB Robotics represented about 7% of its revenues and had an operational EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin of 12.1%. The division has about 7 000 employees, while ABB said it has a total about 110 000 worldwide.
ABB Robotics’ US headquarters and factory are in Auburn Hills, Mich. In March, it said it planned to invest $120 million in expanding production in the US. The company’s portfolio includes industrial automation, force- and power-limited robot arms, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) acquired with ASTI Mobile Robotics for $191 million in 2021.
“SoftBank’s offer has been carefully evaluated by the board and executive committee and compared with our original intention for a spin-off,” stated Peter Voser, chairman of ABB. “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,” he added. “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.”
SoftBank beefs up robotics portfolio — again
“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI,” asserted Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “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.”
Not only has SoftBank invested in robotics companies, but it has also owned several over the years, with mixed results. The Tokyo-based company‘s robotics unit also produces the Whiz floor cleaner.
SoftBank acquired humanoid service robot maker Aldebaran Robotics for $100 million in 2012, rebranded it as SoftBank Robotics in 2016, and sold it as SoftBank Robotics Europe to United Robotics Group in 2022. In June 2025, Aldebaran went into receivership.
In 2018, SoftBank invested $375 million in Zume Pizza, which shut down two years later. In 2019, it gave Nuro.ai $940 million, and the driverless delivery vehicle maker reached a $6 billion valuation in August 2025.
SoftBank acquired legged robot developer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet in 2017 and sold it to Hyundai Motor Group for $880 million in 2021.
In addition, SoftBank took a 40% stake in warehouse automation provider AutoStore for $2.2 billion in 2021. In 2023, SoftBank merged with Berkshire Grey in a cash deal worth about $375 million.
ABB Group said the divestment of the robotics division will result in a non-operational pre-tax book gain of approximately $2.4 billion with expected cash proceeds, net of transaction costs, of about $5.3 billion. It expects separation costs of around $200 million, about half of which was already included in its 2025 guidance. ABB estimated transaction-related cash tax outflows for local business carve-out of $400 million to $500 million.
