RBC Bearings to Buy ABB's Mechanical Power Transmission Division for $2.9 Billion

By Dave Sebastian

RBC Bearings Inc. has agreed to buy Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.'s Dodge mechanical power transmission division for $2.9 billion in cash, the companies said.

Dodge, based in Greenville, S.C., makes mounted bearings, enclosed gearing and transmission components. It operates in the construction and mining aftermarket, food and beverage, warehousing and general machinery sectors, with sales mainly in the Americas.

RBC Bearings said it expects the deal to immediately add to its per-share earnings by about 40% to 60% in the first full fiscal year after close, excluding amortization of intangibles, deferred financing fees, and one-time deal costs associated with the transaction. The company said it expects cash per-share earnings to be between $7 and $8 a share in the first fiscal year.

RBC Bearings said the deal is supported by a fully committed bridge facility, with permanent financing expected to include a mix of debt and equity.

Dodge had revenue of about $600 million for the year ended June 30, according to ABB, as Asea Brown Boveri is known. The unit has about 1,500 employees world-wide. ABB said it expects to book a non-operational pretax book gain of about $2.2 billion on the sale of Dodge. It also sees transaction-related cash tax outflows of about $400 million.

The companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

Write to Dave Sebastian at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2021 08:03 ET (12:03 GMT)

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