ZURICH--Power and technology company ABB Ltd. said Friday it
plans to sell a steel products business for $600 million in cash,
part of the company's efforts to streamline its operations.
ABB said it was selling Meyer Steel Structures, which makes
steel poles and other products used for power transmission, to
Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc. Zurich-based ABB acquired
Meyer when it purchased Thomas & Betts Corp. in 2012.
Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer said the sale--ABB's largest
since it began reviewing its portfolio last year--was needed
because Meyer's products had little in common with the rest of
ABB's business, which ranges from power grids to industrial robots.
The sale is part of a "strategy for continuous portfolio
optimization," he said in a statement.
ABB, the world's largest maker of electricity grids, has been
selling off fringe assets, including ventilation, generator and
renewable energy businesses.
Meyer employs about 1,100 people and has four U.S. manufacturing
facilities. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of
this year.
Write to John Revill at john.revill@wsj.com
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