HITACHI takes majority stake in ABB Power Grids

Japanese industrial group Hitachi completed the acquisition of an 80.1% majority equity stake in the Power Grids business unit of Swiss engineering company ABB, in a transaction where the target was valued at $5–15bn. Announced in December 2018 and formally closed on July 3, 2020, the transaction established the Swiss-headquartered joint venture Hitachi ABB Power Grids, led by Chief Executive Officer Claudio Facchin. At transaction closing, ABB's Power Grids division generated $5–15bn in annual revenue and approximately $500M–1bn in operational EBITA, employing 36,000 people across 100 manufacturing hubs and 200 commercial sales offices serving clients in over 90 countries. The target held roughly 50% of the global installed base in high-voltage direct current transmission systems, spanning 120 individual projects totaling over 130,000 MW of installed capacity. For ABB, the divestment yielded estimated net cash proceeds of $7.6 billion to $7.8 billion returned to shareholders through a 10% share buyback program. In structuring the transaction, Hitachi retained UBS as sole lead financial advisor alongside Goldman Sachs Japan as co-financial advisor. The acquisition enables Hitachi to combine ABB's high-voltage electrical grid hardware and automated transmission systems with its Lumada digital IoT platform, scaling its Social Innovation Business across global utility, transportation, and industrial energy markets.