Voith GmbH, Germany, has informed KUKA AG, Germany, a world supplier of robotics as well as plant and systems engineering, that it no longer has any voting rights in KUKA AG. Independently, Dr. Hubert Lienhard, president and CEO of Voith GmbH, has informed the chairman of the board of Management of KUKA AG that he has stepped down from his seat in the supervisory board of KUKA AG with immediate effect.

At the same time, Voith confirmed the receipt of just under EUR 1.2 billion in cash from MECCA International (BVI), British Virgin Islands, an affiliate of Midea Group Co., China, a global player in consumer appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, robotics, and industrial automation systems.

Within about 18 months, the value of Voith's KUKA holding had approximately doubled. This means that Voith has now brought the KUKA transaction to a successful conclusion.

Voith said that it can now push ahead faster with the transformation of its business, pursuant to its digital agenda. The intention is to invest the additional funds in the further development of its portfolio. 

"We can now flexibly invest the resources that have so far been tied up in KUKA to promote organic growth and also to make attractive acquisitions," said Dr.  Lienhard. 

As an established technological leader with extensive domain knowledge and a wide range of existing systems and products in the markets, Voith believes that digital business models with its customers can offer significant potential for growth. 

Founded in 1867, Voith today has around 19,000 employees, sales of $4.7 billion, and locations in more than 60 countries worldwide, and is thus one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe.