SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to acquire ABB Ltd.’s industrial robots unit at an enterprise value of almost $5.4 billion, reflecting billionaire Masayoshi Son’s growing bets on emerging technology in artificial intelligence and robotics.

The Japanese investment firm agreed to take over a business with more than 7,000 employees, which supplies industrial arms and robots to manufacturers including BMW AG. Swiss conglomerate ABB — which originally aimed to spin off the unit — will instead focus on more profitable areas such as electrification, which is also surging, as the likes of OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc. spend trillions on data centers.

ABB had said in April that it planned to create a separately listed entity for the robotics business in 2026. It was one of the first major strategic moves by chief executive officer Morten Wierod, who took the helm in August last year. 

Vontobel analyst Mark Diethelm said the sale of the unit has a “highly attractive multiple,” adding the cash proceeds will likely be used for deals and share buybacks. The expected value of a separate listing would have been less than $4 billion. 

ABB shares rose 1.2% to 59.14 Swiss francs at 12:25 p.m. in Zurich on October 8, after earlier rising as much as 3.3% to a record intraday high. They’ve gained about 20% in the past 12 months. SoftBank, which has more than doubled over the past year, fell 2% in Tokyo.

The move comes as Son, SoftBank’s chief executive officer, aims to build data centers across the U.S. in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle for the Stargate initiative. SoftBank is also exploring the feasibility of a large-scale industrial manufacturing hub in the U.S., which could encompass production lines for AI-powered industrial robots, Bloomberg News has reported.

$75 Billion Industry

The deal gives SoftBank “exposure to a $75 billion robotics industry that’s growing 8% a year, with the AI section of the market expanding about 20% annually,” Kirk Boodry, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a note. “It reveals SoftBank’s plans for the remaining focus area it identified for its AI pivot, and also brings in expertise that can help it unearth value in the other robotics investments it has made to date.” 

The Japanese company recently established a new holding company, Robo HD, combining its robotics assets, and signaling a renewed commitment to the field. More than a dozen portfolio companies — including Berkshire Grey Inc., Agile Robots SE and Skild AI, a developer of AI models for robots — were transferred to the new entity.

Son’s interest in robots is best known through Pepper, a humanoid unveiled in 2014. SoftBank later halted production after demand waned. SoftBank is also invested in technologies aimed at advancing industrial automation and logistics.

ABB’s robotics unit runs manufacturing hubs in China, the U.S. and Sweden, where it was initially created. The robotics and discrete automation unit, of which it is part, has suffered from weakness in the automotive and consumer electronics sector.

ABB expects the deal with SoftBank to close in mid- to late 2026, subject to regulatory reviews.

“We’re not expecting major regulatory obstacles, but this is a process we have to go through as part of the divestment track,” Wierod said in an interview. ABB is focused on accelerating M&A, he said, as it aims to get 1% to 2% of revenue growth via acquisitions every year. “We have today, especially after this deal, higher power to do what we want to do.”