ZURICH (dpa-AFX) - Swiss technology major ABB Ltd (ABBN.SW, ABB.ST, ABBNY) Thursday announced its agreement to acquire Rotork plc (ROR.L, RTOXF), a British actuator manufacturer and flow control company, in a deal with enterprise value of around $5.5 billion.
The companies agreed the terms of a recommended cash offer for Rotork, under which each Rotork shareholder would be entitled to receive 503 pence in cash per Rotork share.
The per share price represents a premium of around 60% to Rotork's latest 3-month average share price.
Rotork shareholders will also be entitled to receive an interim dividend for the period to June 30 of up to 3 pence per Rotork share without any reduction to the offer value.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027 and is subject to Rotork's shareholder vote and customary regulatory approvals.
ABB noted that Rotork is expected to add around 3% in revenues to ABB and be immediately accretive to ABB's Operational EBITA margin.
ABB expects the transaction to further strengthen its focus on electrification and automation and expand its Automation business area's offering for large and complex infrastructure and industries.
Rotork recorded 8% average annual organic revenue growth in 2022 to 2025, serving segments including oil & gas, chemical, process and industrial, including data centers, as well as water and power.
In 2025, the company's revenues were around $1 billion and adjusted operating profit margin was 24.6%.
Rotork Board has unanimously agreed to recommend the offer to its shareholders, noting that the offer reflects its high quality, and that ABB's decentralised operating model to run Rotork as a separate division will benefit its business.
Following the deal closure, Rotork is expected to operate as a separate division under a strategic growth mandate within ABB's Automation business area, and to add around 12% to the business area's revenues.
ABB plans to finance the transaction through existing cash resources as well as committed bank facilities. In addition, the signed divestment of ABB's Robotics business to SoftBank is expected to deliver approximately $4.8 billion of net cash proceeds.
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