Establishing an international robotics key player
AsiaNet 95420
BOCHUM, Germany, PARIS and TOKYO, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
- German United Robotics Group acquires SoftBank Robotics Europe in Paris
The United Robotics Group (URG), a subsidiary of the RAG-Stiftung in Essen, has
reached an agreement with SoftBank Robotics Group Corp. (SBRG) to acquire their
French subsidiary SoftBank Robotics Europe SAS (SBRE). SBRG will acquire a
minority stake in URG and the two companies will continue to cooperate in the
global marketing of various robots. By acquiring SBRE, URG will become one of
the leading service robotics companies in Europe.
With this acquisition, URG is following its strategy of securing a leading
position in the robotics market through organic growth and acquisitions. The
extensive know-how and experience of SBRE's highly qualified employees not only
ideally complement URG's broad product range, but the combined forces will
above all accelerate research and development and thus further strengthen the
company's innovative power.
Headquartered in Paris, France, SBRE is a leader in humanoid robotics and the
developer and manufacturer of the world-renowned Pepper and NAO robots. URG has
been the master distributor in the European market since October 2021,
responsible for sales, service and maintenance of Pepper and NAO. URG companies
such as Humanizing Technologies and ENTRANCE Robotics have already been
partners of SBRE since 2017.
URG, SBRG and SBRE will hold a strong partnership to develop and distribute
various robots including Pepper and will continue to provide services together
to customers around the world.
SBRE will revert to its former name of Aldebaran, a pioneer in interaction
robotics and academics market. General Manager of SBRE, Xavier Lacherade, will
continue to lead the company. The transaction is subject to merger clearance
and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
"We are pleased to welcome SBRE with more than 180 exceptionally motivated
robotics specialists," said Thomas Hähn, founder and CEO of United Robotics
Group. "This is an important step for us on the way to further
internationalizing our company. The future Aldebaran with their strong
reputation in the market will help us to further expand our great potential in
combining interaction robotics with our knowledge in collaborative industrial
robotics."
Fumihide Tomizawa, President & CEO, SoftBank Robotics Group, said: "We are
strengthening our strategic partnerships with various robotics leader companies
around the world. We are very pleased to form a strong partnership with a
successful company, URG. We will leverage this great relationship to develop
and market Pepper and a variety of other robots."
Xavier Lacherade, General Manager of SoftBank Robotics Europe, said: "We know
URG as a strategic partner in sales, services and software development. I am
very excited about the combination of the two companies into one large network.
I am firmly convinced that the short management paths, which are also
characterized by the German-French friendship, will inspire the work on both
sides of the Rhine and lead us to new successes in the near future."
About United Robotics Group
The United Robotics Group is a subsidiary of RSBG SE
[https://www.rag-stiftung.de/en/foundation/finances/holdings], a wholly owned
investment entity of the RAG-Stiftung [https://www.rag-stiftung.de/en/], which
primarily focuses on technology driven engineering companies. With a long-term
oriented buy and build strategy, RSBG SE is a valuable partner for successful
mid-sized companies such as the United Robotics Group.
The United Robotics Group (URG), headquartered in Bochum, Germany, unites young
service robotics companies into a unique ecosystem. URG bundles hardware and
software expertise under one roof, develops customized service robotics
solutions with its partners and customers to meet challenges in the medical,
care, hospitality and education sectors, and offers Robot as a Service.
Customer needs, product quality, data protection and sustainability are the
drivers of development at URG.
For more information: https://www.unitedrobotics.group
About SoftBank Robotics Europe
Leader in humanoid robotics, SoftBank Robotics Europe is headquartered in Paris
and regroups about 180 employees. Creator of the robots NAO and Pepper, used
today in more than 70 countries worldwide, in various fields, such as retail,
healthcare, tourism and education, SoftBank Robotics Europe is a subsidiary of
SoftBank Robotics Group Corp.
For more information: www.softbankrobotics.com/emea
About SoftBank Robotics Group
SoftBank Robotics is driving technology forward by becoming a worldwide leader
in robotics solutions. Rapidly expanding with offices in Tokyo, San Francisco,
Boston, London, Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Singapore, Sydney,
Shanghai, and Hong Kong. SoftBank Robotics is constantly exploring and
commercializing robotics solutions that help make people's lives easier, safer,
more connected, and more extraordinary. SoftBank Robotics' robots are used in
more than 70 countries worldwide and we offer innovative applications relevant
in the fields of retail, tourism, healthcare, finance, education, facilities
management, cleaning, warehouse, and logistics.
For more information: https://www.softbankrobotics.com/
Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com)
Press contacts:
Johannes Kober
Corporate Communication, United Robotics Group GmbH
+49 174 61 59 342
+49 69 42 72 60 238
J.Kober@unitedrobotics.group
Nicolas Halftermeyer
Communications & Product Branding Director, SoftBank Robotics Europe SAS
nicolas.halftermeyer@softbankrobotics.com
Kiminari Iwanaga
Public Relations Office, SoftBank Robotics Group Corp.
SBRGRP-PR@g.softbank.co.jp
Source: United Robotics Group
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