Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it has reached a deal to purchase the power grid business of Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd., initially investing $6.4 billion for an 80.1 percent stake before a complete takeover in the future. The deal, Hitachi’s biggest-ever acquisition, would strengthen the electronics maker’s competitiveness in the power transmission business against General Electric Co. and Siemens AG. Hitachi said it will close the deal to acquire the 80.1 percent stake around the first half of 2020. After the transaction is settled, Hitachi will buy up the remaining stake in four or more years.
Japan Times 17th Dec 2018 read more »
Hitachi Ltd. and ABB on December 17 announced that Hitachi will acquire 80.1% of ABB’s Power Grids unit in an $11 billion deal. Reports of the possible acquisition surfaced December 16, with several media outlets including POWER discussing the agreement, citing sources familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified. Hitachi plans to close the purchase in the first half of 2020, making Power Grids a consolidated subsidiary. Hitachi has entered into a purchase option to acquire the remaining 19.9% stake in Power Grids and make the business a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Power Mag 17th Dec 2018 read more »