Germans approve ABB-Baldor deal
by December 27, 2010 5:48 pm 69 views
The German Federal Cartel Office as approved ABB’s pending purchase of Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the German office “cleared Parent’s acquisition of the Company without conditions.”
Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB announced Nov. 30 the deal to buy Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. in a deal that would see ABB pay $3.1 billion ($63.50 per share) for Baldor shares and $1.1 billion to clear Baldor debt.
ABB and Baldor Electric officials announced Dec. 21 that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has made a second request for documents related to the pending $4.2 billion ABB purchase of Baldor.
“ABB and Baldor believe that the DOJ issued the requests in order to give itself additional time to complete its review of the transaction. Both parties remain confident that the DOJ will conclude that the transaction raises no antitrust concerns,” noted the joint statement.
The ABB Group is a global manufacturer of electric motors, drives, power system components, circuit breakers, switches and numerous other devices used in power and automation systems. The company operates in 100 countries and employs 117,000.
Baldor, a maker, designer and marketer of industrial electric motors, motor drives, power transmissions and generators, employs between 7,000 and 7,500 in 26 plants in five countries and sales offices serving more than 80 countries. About 2,000 are employed in the Fort Smith area.