Rotork jumps 67% after ABB agrees $5.5bn takeover

Rotork shares jumped 67% on Thursday after ABB agreed a recommended all-cash takeover of the British engineering firm for $5.5 billion, the largest acquisition in ABB’s history. ABB announced the offer alongside its second-quarter results.

ABB said the deal will be funded in part by proceeds from a planned $4.8 billion sale of its robotics division to SoftBank Group. The company expects the acquisition to add about 3% to group revenue and to immediately boost profitability, citing Rotork’s strong margins.

Rotork manufactures actuators and flow-control equipment used to open and close industrial valves that regulate liquids and gases. Its products serve oil and gas, power generation, water treatment, chemicals, mining and marine sectors. The company recorded roughly $1 billion of revenue in 2025, has grown at about 8% a year and reported an operating margin of 24.6%.

ABB reported operational earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of $1.93 billion for the quarter, a 20% rise year on year and slightly above analyst expectations of $1.88 billion. Revenue rose 14% to $9.48 billion and net income increased 7% to $1.23 billion. Orders climbed 30% to $12.04 billion, driven by demand for electrification and automation equipment, including for data centres supporting artificial intelligence workloads. ABB shares moved about 3% higher in premarket trading in Zurich following the announcements.

Chief executive Morten Wierod described the acquisition as a “compelling strategic fit” that will expand ABB’s automation offering at the field device layer and said the group had followed Rotork for many years.

The $5.5 billion price exceeds ABB’s prior largest deals, including the $4.2 billion purchase of Baldor in 2011 and the $3.9 billion acquisition of Thomas & Betts in 2012. The takeover adds to a wave of overseas offers for UK-listed companies: foreign bidders accounted for 86% of the total value of UK mergers and acquisitions so far in 2026, up from 75% a year earlier. Takeover approaches for UK businesses have reached more than $231 billion year to date, more than three times the level at the same point in 2025, with US firms behind more than half of overseas bids.

Recent approaches to UK groups have included offers for Intertek, Schroders, parts of Unilever’s food business and Tate & Lyle. Separately, energy services group DCC said it had received an improved proposal from KKR and Energy Capital Partners, who increased a prior £5.7 billion offer by adding up to 125 pence per share, funded by the planned sale of DCC’s technology business Nexora; the bidders have until July 27 to make a firm offer or withdraw.