ABB Plans No More Big Deals After Completing Thomas & Betts Purchase

Power and technology company ABB Ltd (ABBN.VX) Wednesday said it expects to complete its $3.9 billion deal to buy U.S. low voltage company Thomas & Betts Corp (TNB) in the second quarter, and doesn't plan any more big acquisitions.

Chief Executive Joe Hogan said: "We have nothing on the book which looks close to the size of Thomas & Betts."

Zurich-based ABB Wednesday said its first-quarter sales and earnings had been led by growth in North America.

"We are expecting the U.S. to continue on the path we have seen," Hogan told a conference call.

In China, where ABB said growth was weakest, ABB said it still expected the country to achieve its target of 8.5% gross domestic product growth.

The market in China, ABB's second biggest market, was segmented wkith construction and and transportation posting weaker growth, said Chief Financial Officer Michel Demare.

"China we believe is going to hit the GDP figures. The industrial part of China we expect to recover faster," Demare said.

-By John Revill, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone] ; [e-mail]