Homburger advised ABB in the separation of the Power Grids business and the completion of its divestment to Hitachi

On July 1, 2020, ABB Ltd announced that it reached a significant milestone in the company’s transformation towards a decentralized global technology company, with the completion of the divestment of 80.1% of its Power Grids business to Hitachi, as planned. The divestment allows ABB to focus on key market trends and customer needs such as the electrification of transport and industry, automated manufacturing, digital solutions and increased sustainable productivity.

ABB is a long-term partner of Hitachi and will initially retain a 19.9% equity stake in the joint venture that will operate as Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The joint venture headquartered in Switzerland is a global leader in power systems, with annualized revenues of approximately USD 10 bn and roughly 36,000 employees, serving customers in over 90 countries. The transaction valued the Power Grids business at an enterprise value of USD 11 bn. ABB has a pre-defined option to exit the retained 19.9% shareholding three years after closing.

Homburger advised ABB in the transaction and the carve-out, marking an important turning point in the history of ABB. The Homburger team was led by partners Claude Lambert and Andreas Müller and comprised lead associate Marc Schamaun, junior associates Gregor Schifferle, Therry Lehmann and Cédric Berger and paralegal Maria Braun (all Corporate / M&A), partners Reto Heuberger and Stefan Oesterhelt, associates Marc Vogelsang and Céline Martin and junior associate Luzius Kaufmann (all Tax), partner Jürg Frick and counsel Eduard De Zordi (both Financing), partner Richard Stäuber and junior associate Urs Stürmer (both Competition), partner Balz Gross and associate Dzevrije Zendeli (both Employment and Executive Compensation), partners Gregor Bühler and Luca Dal Molin and associate Philippe Baumann (all IP / IT). Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as global transaction counsel to ABB.