Summary:

Pasta, leather, and inverters? Italy is going to make its mark on a whole new industry, solar inverters. ABB has said goodbye to the inverter business. The company has signed over its solar power inverter business to the Italian based company FIMER. ABB isn’t selling the company in fact, they will pay up to $470 million to complete the transaction.This acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2020. FIMER will honor all existing ABB warranties.

Main Article:

ABB and Italian company FIMER have signed an agreement for FIMER to acquire ABB’s solar inverter business so the company can focus on other growth markets. Reuters reported that ABB will pay up to $470 million to complete the transaction, with a portion of that money going to FIMER in cash.

The news follows fellow inverter manufacturer KACO new energy’s sale of its central inverter business to OCI Power and string inverter business to Siemens earlier this year.

ABB’s solar inverter business has approximately 800 employees in more than 30 countries, with manufacturing and R&D sites in Italy, India and Finland. It includes the solar inverter business from Power-One which was acquired by ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division in 2013. The business offers a comprehensive portfolio of products, systems and services for different types of solar installations. It is currently within ABB’s Electrification business and achieved revenues of approximately $290 million in 2018.

The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2020 and will be subject to certain conditions, including the completion of the carve-out and prior consultation with employee representative bodies. FIMER will honor all existing ABB warranties moving forward.

“The divestment is in line with our strategy of ongoing systematic portfolio management to strengthen competitiveness, focus on quality of revenue and higher growth segments,” said Tarak Mehta, president of ABB’s Electrification business. “Solar is a well-established and key focus for FIMER and as such we believe them to be a very good owner for ABB’s solar inverter business. The combination of the portfolios under FIMER will support further sales growth. Through our intelligent low- and medium-voltage offering, ABB will continue to integrate solar power into a range of smart solutions including smart buildings, energy storage and electric vehicle charging.”

“We are glad to announce this further step in our development as FIMER’s focus on the solar business will be greatly enhanced by this integration,” said Filippo Carzaniga, CEO of FIMER. “Our commitment to positively influencing the energy market will be realized through the development of new product platforms and innovative digital technologies. We will continue the excellent job carried out by ABB in recent years, combining precious resources, knowledge and expertise in Italy and worldwide. With a strengthened portfolio, we are better placed to shape the future of this increasingly strategic business.”

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