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25% of KUKA shares trade hands

By Frank Tobe | December 7, 2014


Voith GmbH, among the biggest family-owned businesses in Europe, acquired 25% of robot maker Kuka AG by buying the shares held by Grenzebach GmbH.

The transaction was valued at €555 million ($683 million), based on Bloomberg closing share prices.

KUKA has been active financially this last year:

  • KUKA acquired the engineering services, toolmaking and integration divisions of US-based Utica Enterprises for an estimated $25 million in May, 2013. 300 people were involved in the acquisition.
  • KUKA acquired 51% of the shares of Reis Robotics, a 57-year old family-owned Germany-based robotics provider and systems integrator with sales of $178 million, in December, 2013. 1,300 employes worked for Reis.
  • KUKA acquired Alema Automation SAS, a French automation solutions provider to the aviation industry, in March, 2014, for an undisclosed amount.
  • KUKA purchased Swisslog, a healthcare and materials handling robot company, for $378 million in October, 2014. Grenzebach GmbH was a 30% shareholder of Swisslog at the time of the acquisition.

Till Reuter, CEO of KUKA, said: “This is good news for our employees, as this new anchor shareholder will provide us with a stable basis for further growth.”

“Kuka is focused on mechanics, electronics, sensor systems and software,” Voith Chief Executive Officer Hubert Lienhard said. “This makes it an ideal, forward-looking investment for us.

Will there be a consolidation of KUKA, Grenzebach and Swisslog mobility R&D and products? And will there be a mobile manipulator robot in the near-term future using KUKA’s new lightweight IBR iiwa arm and Swisslog’s and Grenzebach’s consolidated mobile platform? Interesting times….

About The Author

Frank Tobe

Frank Tobe is the founder of The Robot Report and co-founder of ROBO Global which has developed a tracking index for the robotics industry, the ROBO Global™ Robotics & Automation Index. The index of ~90 companies in 13 sub-sectors tracks and captures the entire economic value of this global opportunity in robotics, automation and enabling technologies.

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