ABB Acquires Full Ownership of Finnish Joint Venture
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Investment will strengthen position in the Nordic low voltage business
Zurich, Switzerland, January 8, 2009 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has agreed to acquire all interests in the Finnish joint venture, Ensto Busch-Jaeger Oy, from Ensto Oy, subject to the customary regulatory approvals.
ABB owns a 21-percent stake in the joint venture, and has agreed to take over the 79-percent stake of the business owned by the privately held Ensto Group for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2009.
Ensto Busch-Jaeger was formed 28 years ago by ABB subsidiary Busch-Jaeger Elektro of Germany and the Ensto Group of Finland to produce high-quality wiring accessories and installation material such as light switches and sockets for the Nordic residential and commercial building markets.
The business employs about 120 employees and is based in Porvoo, Finland, with business activities in Sweden and Norway. It will be part of ABB's Automation Products division. In 2007, Ensto Busch-Jaeger had revenues of ca.$ 55 million.
"This investment is fully in line with our strategy to broaden our market scope with value creating acquisitions," said Tom Sjoekvist, head of the Automation Products division. "Building on our existing long-term relationship, ABB is ideally positioned to further grow Ensto Busch-Jaeger's portfolio of high-quality products in the Nordic markets, and to better cover the markets and serve customer demand." Sjoekvist added.
Ensto Group (www.ensto.com) is an international industrial group specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of electrical systems and supplies, which are essential, both to the distribution of electrical power and everyday electrical applications. Ensto employs around 1,500 people in 18 countries across Europe and Asia.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.
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