Hyundai Motor plans to fully acquire Boston Dynamics, Soft Bank may be forced to sell shares at ultra-low prices
South Korea's Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a robot manufacturer. The group announced on Thursday that it plans to acquire its stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank, thereby fully owning Boston Dynamics. Hyundai Motor said SoftBank shareholders are reviewing contractual rights and obligations after the company exercised a put option on SoftBank. According to the agreement between the two parties, the transaction values SoftBank’s 9.9% stake at approximately US$325 million. Under the agreement, SoftBank can exercise its put option to exit Boston Dynamics if it fails to go public this year.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a robot manufacturer. The group announced on Thursday that it plans to acquire its stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank, thereby fully owning Boston Dynamics. Hyundai Motor said SoftBank shareholders are reviewing contractual rights and obligations after the company exercised a put option on SoftBank. According to the agreement between the two parties, the transaction values SoftBank’s 9.9% stake at approximately US$325 million. Under the agreement, SoftBank can exercise its put option to exit Boston Dynamics if it fails to go public this year. At the same time, Hyundai Group also obtained corresponding call options. According to analysts, since Hyundai Motor's right to buy shares is considered inevitable, SoftBank can basically only sell. Currently, Boston Dynamics’ shareholding structure is: Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun holds 22.6% of the shares, Hyundai Motor holds 28%, Kia holds 17.2%, Hyundai Mobis holds 11.3%, and Hyundai Global Vision holds 11.25%. After the acquisition of the remaining shares is completed, Hyundai Motor Group will hold 100% of Boston Dynamics' shares. Hyundai Motor Group has been considering expanding its investment and cooperation with Boston Dynamics as part of its long-term robotics strategy. The deal comes as Hyundai prepares to deploy Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robots to factory floors. The deal could bring a windfall to Hyundai. Analysts estimate that Boston Dynamics will be valued at between 30 trillion won and 150 trillion won (approximately US$20 billion to US$100 billion) amid the global race to develop physical artificial intelligence. In the SoftBank transaction, Boston Dynamics was valued at only US$3.3 billion. Changho Kim, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities Co., said the acquisition will alleviate Hyundai Motor’s concerns about Boston Dynamics’ future stakes being diluted after its IPO. Hyundai Motor may bring in outside investors such as Google through a pre-IPO financing round to obtain a third-party valuation. In addition to the formal completion of the equity acquisition, Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas is also undergoing continuous verification. On July 5, during the World Cup round of 16 match between Brazil and Norway in the United States, Atlas went on stage for a demonstration and handed the game ball to the referee. The robot will also be deployed at Hyundai Motor Group's U.S. factories. Specifically, starting in 2028, Atlas will undertake the sorting task of parts classification. From 2030, its work scope will gradually expand to cover the difficult parts assembly process. (