Italy's Fimer completes ABB inverter business acquisition

Fimer, an Italian manufacturer of solar inverters, has announced the completion of the acquisition of Swiss conglomerate ABB's inverter business, which was first announced in July last year. The transaction covered all of ABB's manufacturing and R&D sites in Finland, India, and Italy, as well as the 800 employees across 26 countries.

The cost of the purchase has not been disclosed by either party, however ABB did say that it would take on six-year costs amounting to around €388-million in connection with the transaction. The Swiss firm also said that it expected 'separation costs' of €36-million as a result of the deal.

“Fimer’s commitment is to continue to create value and maintain existing facilities as well as employment levels. Investment in research and development are of key importance,” the company said in a statement. “As a result, Fimer decided to maintain both the R&D hub in Finland and manufacturing plants Italy and India.” 

Those plants will augment the inverter manufacturing facility Fimer owns in Vimercate, in Lombardy, northern Italy. The combined business now has around 1,100 employees.

Fimer has said that the acquisition now makes it the world's fourth largest inverter manufacturer. An expected 7 GW of inverters is expected to be shipped by the combined businesses. The firm's prediction omitted any mention of the coronavirus outbreak, which has more registered cases in Lombardy than any other Italian region.

In a statement, Fimer outlined the fact that ABB products will continue to feature the Swiss brand for now: “Following the acquisition and integration of ABB’s solar inverter business in the first quarter of 2020, and under the umbrella of the renewed Fimer brand, the newly acquired solar inverter portfolio continues to carry the ABB brand under the trademark license agreement.”

Last September, both ABB and Fimer responded to an open letter published by the UK's Solar Trade Association. The group was critical of the Swiss company's products and customer service, saying that there were concerns among its members that the impending takeover of ABB's inverter business would make the enforcement of warranty claims more difficult, also highlighting what its members described as poor customer service.

In response, ABB said that the necessary steps had been taken to ensure the correct management of the situation and that it was working closely with affected customers to resolve pending issues. 

Fimer said that it would take charge of the issues raised by the UK trade body before the inverter business' transfer was finalised.

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