Chinese electronics giant Midea Group has acquired control of Israeli company Servotronix at a company value of $170 million, the Petah Tikva based company founded by CEO Dr. Ilan Cohen reported this evening.
Founded in 1987, Servotronix develops automation solutions focused on motion control for a diverse range of industries including robotics, printing, textiles, medical equipment, renewable energy, CNC and machine tools, food and beverages, and electronics. Servotronix operates worldwide and has subsidiaries in Germany and China.
Midea, which has a company value of $28 billion and is listed on the Shenzen stock exchange, focuses on household goods, air-conditioning, robotics and automation.
Servotronix reports that its development center in Petah Tikva will continue to operate after the acquisition, while deepening its strategic cooperation with Midea.
Dr. Ilan Cohen said: “This alliance will provide Servotronix with significant leverage for our global operations and put Servotronix in a leadership position in the field of robotics, control and automation, with China being a major market in this field. We are proud that Midea has recognized our success, and we are confident that this strategic alliance will benefit the company, our customers and our employees. Servotronix will continue its operations with even more enthusiasm and strength."
Midea chairman and CEO Paul Fang said, “This strategic alliance represents another milestone of Midea’s expansion in industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing. We believe that Servotronix’ technological leadership and innovation in motion control will generate significant synergies with Midea in terms of value chain integration and new market development. By leveraging each other’s complementary capabilities and resources, the two companies will join forces to develop exciting new products and explore growth opportunities going forward.”
Servotronix has 200 employees, most of them in Petah Tikva. It is unclear, how much of a controlling interest Midea is buying. Ilan Cohen is expected to sell part of his $26 million stake in the company and another founder, Ruth Wertheimer is expected to sell her entire $56 million stake. Other senior managers and employees are also expected to sell shares.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 11, 2017
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