ABB Inc. has agreed to acquire all interests in the Finnish joint venture, Ensto Busch-Jaeger Oy, from Ensto Oy, subject to the customary regulatory approvals. ABB states that the investment will strengthen its position in the Nordic low voltage business.
ABB owns a 21% stake in the joint venture, and has agreed to take over the 79% stake of the business owned by the privately held Ensto Group for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2009.
Ensto Busch-Jaeger was formed 28 years ago by ABB subsidiary Busch-Jaeger Elektro of Germany and the Ensto Group of Finland to produce wiring accessories and installation material such as light switches and sockets for the Nordic residential and commercial building markets.
The business will be part of ABB’s Automation Products division. In 2007, Ensto Busch-Jaeger had revenues of about $55 million.
"This investment is fully in line with our strategy to broaden our market scope with value creating acquisitions," said Tom Sjoekvist, head of the Automation Products division.
"Building on our existing long-term relationship, ABB is ideally positioned to further grow Ensto Busch-Jaeger’s portfolio of high-quality products in the Nordic markets, and to better cover the markets and serve customer demand."
