Hitachi, Ltd.
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
This page covers 3 major deals from 2020 to 2024, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABB Power Grids | 2020 | Undisclosed | Hitachi bought 80.1% of ABB's Power Grids business in July 2020 (deal valuing the whole unit at about $11 billion) and the remaining 19.9% in 2022, to build a global grid equipment and HVDC business. |
| GlobalLogic | 2021 | Undisclosed | Hitachi acquired US digital engineering firm GlobalLogic in July 2021 for about $9.6 billion to add software engineering talent and expand Lumada outside Japan. |
| Thales Ground Transportation Systems | 2024 | Undisclosed | Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shifting most of its revenue to higher-return signalling and systems. |
2024
Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shifting most of its revenue to higher-return signalling and systems.
2021
Hitachi acquired US digital engineering firm GlobalLogic in July 2021 for about $9.6 billion to add software engineering talent and expand Lumada outside Japan.
Gave Hitachi a global digital engineering arm to pair with its equipment businesses.
GlobalLogic runs as a distinct unit inside Digital Systems & Services; in 2026 management noted softer demand in parts of its market.
2020
Hitachi bought 80.1% of ABB's Power Grids business in July 2020 (deal valuing the whole unit at about $11 billion) and the remaining 19.9% in 2022, to build a global grid equipment and HVDC business.
Made Hitachi one of the main global suppliers of HVDC systems and power transformers.
The unit was renamed Hitachi Energy and is now central to Hitachi's Energy sector.
Hitachi grows by attaching software and services to its installed base and by reshaping its portfolio. It is expanding Hitachi Energy factory capacity for transformers and HVDC, integrating Thales GTS into Hitachi Rail, and scaling Lumada through GlobalLogic and AI partnerships. On the portfolio side, it agreed in April 2026 to sell 80.1% of its home appliance business to Nojima for about $737 million (¥110 billion), continuing a long exit from consumer and commodity businesses.
Hitachi is a B2B infrastructure and IT company. It sells long-lived physical assets (transformers, HVDC converter stations, trains, signalling, elevators, semiconductor metrology tools) and then earns recurring service, maintenance, and software revenue on that installed base. Lumada is the umbrella for the data, AI, and digital services layered on top, and Hitachi reports Lumada as a growing share of total revenue. The four reporting sectors are Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries. Customers are utilities, rail operators, governments, banks, and manufacturers, and many contracts run for years, which gives Hitachi a large order backlog and revenue visibility.
Historically transformative transactions include AnsaldoBreda and Ansaldo STS in Italy (2015 for $2.2B, forming Hitachi Rail Europe), JR Automation in the US (2019 for $1.4B), ABB Power Grids (2020-2022 for $11B, forming Hitachi Energy), GlobalLogic in the US (2021 for $9.6B), and Thales Ground Transportation Systems (2024 for ~$1.88B (€1.66B)).
Hitachi acquired an 80.1% stake in ABB's Power Grids business in July 2020 (buying the remaining 19.9% in 2022) for $11 billion, creating Hitachi Energy, instantly establishing Hitachi as the #1 global market leader in electrical grid infrastructure and HVDC transmission.
Acquiring GlobalLogic brought over 21,000 top Silicon Valley digital product software engineers, accelerating the international expansion of Lumada, creating high-margin digital engineering revenue, and connecting Hitachi's industrial OT hardware with advanced cloud software.
Hitachi acquired Italian train manufacturer AnsaldoBreda and signaling specialist Ansaldo STS from Finmeccanica (Leonardo) for $2.2 billion in 2015, establishing Hitachi Rail as a major European high-speed rail and digital rail signaling leader.
Completed in May 2024, acquiring Thales GTS expanded Hitachi Rail's presence into 51 countries, securing global leadership in automated communications-based train control (CBTC) and European rail traffic management systems (ERTMS).
Hitachi acquired US-based JR Automation for $1.4 billion in 2019, securing premier industrial robotic integration capabilities for automated automotive, aerospace, and e-commerce manufacturing facilities.
Hitachi evaluates targets based on strategic alignment with Lumada digital co-creation, global footprint in green energy and mobility, proprietary intellectual property, high talent retention, and financial accretion to ROIC and adjusted EBITA.
Hitachi integrates acquisitions by empowering local management teams, establishing global headquarters outside Japan (Hitachi Energy in Zurich, GlobalLogic in Silicon Valley, Hitachi Rail in London), and fostering shared corporate culture around Social Innovation.
To completely finalize their pivot from hardware to software, Hitachi executes massive global acquisitions. In 2020, they bought ABB's massive power grid division for $7.8 billion to dominate green energy. In 2021, they executed a staggering $9.6 billion acquisition of GlobalLogic, a massive Silicon Valley software engineering firm, to supercharge their IT consulting business.
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