Exclusive-ABB open to 'more than one' big deal in renewed M&A drive, chairman says
CNA
ZURICH, March 13 : ABB is stepping up its acquisition drive and is open to pursuing more than one multi-billion dollar transaction, Chairman Peter Voser told Reuters, as the Swiss engineering group looks to speed up growth after years of divestments.Voser said ABB, which has a market cap of 125 billion Swiss
ZURICH, March 13 : ABB is stepping up its acquisition drive and is open to pursuing more than one multi-billion dollar transaction, Chairman Peter Voser told Reuters, as the Swiss engineering group looks to speed up growth after years of divestments.
Voser said ABB, which has a market cap of 125 billion Swiss francs ($159 billion), was evaluating acquisitions of up to several hundred million dollars, but was prepared to "step up" to bigger deals for the right target.
"If you look at our balance sheet and the cash flow we produce every year, and the $5 billion coming in from the robotics divestment, we could also do more than one larger deal," Voser said in an interview at ABB's Zurich headquarters.
The comments point to a more aggressive acquisition focus by ABB after years of sales, including the robotics division deal with SoftBank last year.

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