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SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to pay $ 2.8 billion for a 40% stake in Norwegian warehouse automation company AutoStore, marking another major bet by the Japanese conglomerate on robot-enabled technology.
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AutoStore is controlled by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, while another private equity firm, Sweden’s EQT AB, holds a minority stake. The deal values the company at $ 7.7 billion, including debt, the companies said on Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that such a deal was imminent on Monday.
SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has been making big bets on artificial intelligence and Internet-connected devices for years, predicting in 2017 that super-smart robots will outperform humans in 30 years.
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AutoStore technology allows deposits to be operated almost entirely by robots. The company was founded in 1996 and pioneered a system of dense storage and access to goods that is widely used today.
SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to pay $ 2.8 billion for a 40% stake in Norwegian warehouse automation company AutoStore, marking another major bet by the Japanese conglomerate on robot-enabled technology. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
He employs giant cubes filled with boxes. Robots, but not humans, can travel through the top of the cubes, digging cans and delivering them to stations where workers collect orders. It is especially useful in smaller warehouses, which are proliferating in a race to accelerate the delivery of goods to consumers in cities.
The company, which expects to make a profit in 2021, has benefited as manufacturers adopt technology as a way to cut costs and as e-commerce reaches more parts of everyday life – be it buying clothes, groceries or household items. AutoStore’s customers include John Deere, Gucci and Texas Instruments Inc., according to the company’s website.
SoftBank has been building its investment network in global e-commerce and the related supply chain. It already has stakes in some of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in China and Coupang Inc. in South Korea.
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Thomas H. Lee agreed to purchase the EQT AutoStore in 2019, with EQT and other investors holding the stakes. EQT acquired the AutoStore in 2017.
Under the agreement, Thomas H. Lee would continue to be the majority shareholder and, together with SoftBank and EQT, would have representation on the company’s board.