United Robotics (URG), part of the multi-billion German RAG Foundation, is taking over the European robotics business of Japanese technology investor Softbank, centered on the humanoid robot Pepper. In return, Softbank will acquire a minority stake in URG, the companies said. In addition, both companies want to collaborate in the field of marketing.
According to the RAG-Stiftung, whose subsidiary RSBG owns the stake in URG, Softbank will own 24.9 percent of United Robotics in the future. The merger of United Robotics and the Softbank business could create a major European robot manufacturer in the Ruhr area. The sale is a big step for Softbank, as the robotics business has long been seen as a growth engine.
Companies have been working together for a long time
Softbank and United Robotics have been working together for a long time. For example, URG sells Softbank’s Pepper and Nao robots in Europe. However, in June 2021, Reuters reported that Softbank had stopped manufacturing Pepper humanoids, which respond to human gestures and are used in healthcare facilities, hotels or exhibition stands, and cut jobs in the area.
In France, where the Japanese have been active since they bought the start-up Aldebaran in 2012, some 330 jobs have been cut in half. Meanwhile, the existing Pepper fleet is threatened with obsolescence. In the future, the French company should return under the old name Aldebaran.
The RAG Foundation, founded in 2007, is responsible with its assets for the follow-up costs of German coal mining. The largest interest is in the German specialty chemicals group Evonik, in which the foundation owns about 56 percent. Subsidiary RSBG will develop acquired medium-sized companies sustainably and sustainably. According to a spokeswoman for the foundation, she makes “significant contributions to the profits”.
Source: Krone
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