Hitachi (Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd) just announced today that theyโreย acquiring 100% ownership of Metabo (metabo Aktiengesellschaft). They also acquired Metaboย parent company Power Tool Invest B.V. (โPTIโ), which is headquarteredย in Schiphol, Netherlands. PTI, the holding company of Metabo, owns 80 percent of the stock, with the founding family, executives andย employees of Metabo making up the other 20ย percent. Hitachi acquired the full 80% of corporate shares of Metabo while at the same time purchasing theย 20% of shares from the founding family, executives, and employees. Asย Hitachi acquires Metabo, we canโt help but think this will mean a huge shakeup both here and overseas.
Hitachi Acquires Metabo
We just saw the announcement of the Metabo LiHD batteriesย and related technology which piqued our interest. Add to that the announcement of the Loweโs and Hitachi exclusive deal, and you have an interesting scenario developing that could finally deliver some serious Pro-level tools to consumers in a way that wasnโt formerly available.ย Metabo hasย sales offices in 25 countries, but its strength has always been inย Germany and other European countries. Now, we may finally see more of these tools hit the U.S. market.
Hitachi, however, has the same issues in the U.S., with cordless power tool sales that are well under the big three (even whileย its pneumatic tools are some of the most widely used). Hitachi Koki also stands to gain by expanding its tools into the European market through this acquisition.
The deal was for just under $180 million dollars. You can read the full Hitachi press releaseย for more detailed info.
