Establishing an international robotics key player

BOCHUM, Germany, PARIS and TOKYO, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 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, a wholly owned investment entity of the RAG-Stiftung, 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/