DOJ clears ABB-Baldor deal
by January 20, 2011 4:41 pm 93 views
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has cleared the pending ABB acquisition of Baldor Electric Co.
Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB announced Nov. 29 the move to acquire Fort Smith-based Baldor in an all-cash $4.2 billion deal — $63.50 per share — expected to close in the first quarter of 2011. The Baldor board unanimously agreed to the deal, and ABB said it will keep the corporate operation in Fort Smith.
The tender offer was initially set to expire Jan. 10, but was extended to Jan. 19 and again extended to Jan. 25. As of Jan. 10, 86.38% of the shares outstanding had been tendered. As of Jan. 19, 88.8% of shares had been tendered.
“This antitrust clearance satisfies the last remaining regulatory condition to the tender offer. As announced on January 20, 2011, the tender offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 25, 2011,” noted Thursday’s (Jan. 20) joint statement from ABB and Baldor.
Baldor Chairman and CEO John McFarland has said he is confident the pending purchase of Baldor by ABB will not result in job losses in the Fort Smith area. It may be just the opposite, McFarland suggested, saying the deal could result in developments that expand the responsibilities of Baldor’s Fort Smith headquarters.
Baldor under ABB will be in charge of North American operations for motors, drives, controls and other products and services of the “discrete automation” segment of ABB. According to McFarland, the existing senior management team at Baldor will lead ABB’s expansion in North America.
The ABB existing sales force and back office operations in New Berlin will fall under Baldor’s purview, meaning that some of the about 700 jobs there could move to Fort Smith or other Baldor locations. Also, McFarland said ABB is interested in expanding its power transmission business in the U.S., meaning future acquisitions in that segment could mean more responsibilities for the Fort Smith corporate office.
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.