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Live EventsThe comments point to a more aggressive acquisition focus by ABB \u200bafter years of sales, including the robotics division deal with SoftBank last year.Voser declined to comment on reports that ABB had considered bidding for \u200bFrench electrical equipment maker Legrand, a transaction that would have been the Swiss group’s biggest ever. Legrand has a market value of around $43 billion.
“ABB has never done such a large deal but generally speaking I wouldn’t completely rule out a deal of that size \u200bin the future,” Voser said. However, he added that deals closer to its record $4.2 \u2060billion purchase \u200cof motor maker Baldor were more likely.
BOOSTING GROWTH WITH M&A<\/p>\n
ABB, a competitor to Siemens and Schneider Electric, \u200bhas recently focused on \u200braising profit margins and offloading businesses outside electrification products used in areas like data centres and \u2060automation.<\/p>\n
Future deals would be focused on electrification, motion and automation, Voser said, with the \u200bcompany “constantly in negotiations” on smaller transactions, while larger deals remain an active topic at board \u200band executive committee level.<\/p>\n
“We want to grow organically by 5-7% on average per year, but we have aspirations to grow more, and that will come through M&A,” he said, referring to sales.<\/p>\n
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS COULD HIT GLOBAL DEMAND<\/p>\n
While ABB has so far seen no major negative effects from the Middle East conflict, which began on the last day of February, Voser, a former CEO of energy firm Shell, warned the crisis risked an energy hit to the global economy, hurting demand and investment if it persists.<\/p>\n
“The longer \u200cit lasts, the more the global economy will suffer – you will get energy shortages, prices will go up, and that should have a direct impact on demand,” he said.<\/p>\n