Source: Yicai Global March 28
Chinese home appliances giant Midea Group said it plans to spend about EUR151 million (USD165 million) to fully acquire Kuka before delisting the leading German industrial robots maker.
Midea will buy the 5 percent of Kuka it does not own for EUR80.77 (USD88.69) per share and delist the firm from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Foshan-based company said in a statement on March 26. Kuka’s stock price [FRA: KU2] closed up 7.3 percent at EUR82.60 on March 25.
Midea set out the take-private plan last November after raising its stake in Augsburg-based Kuka, which makes robots for use in the auto, logistics, and electronics sectors among others, to 95 percent in 2017 at a cost of EUR3.7 billion (USD4.1 billion).
Privatization can enhance the efficiency of internal decision making, said Lu Zhangyuan, director of technology research institute Gaogong Industry Institute.
Midea reminded investors of the possible risks, saying uncertainties remain about the purchase.
Kuka had net profit of EUR29.8 million (USD32.6 million) in the nine months ended Sept. 30. Revenue, which had been declining in the past three years, rose almost 27 percent to EUR2.4 billion from a year earlier.
The two companies have been working to localize Kuka’s operations in China and set up its business in the country in 2019. About half of the German firm’s production is in China, Midea said last August, adding that income from China was expected to account for 20 percent of 2021’s total revenue.