Hyundai is preparing to buy out the last piece of Boston Dynamics it does not already own. The South Korean carmaker plans to acquire SoftBank’s remaining 9.65% stake in the US robotics firm for $325m, a deal that would make the maker of the Atlas humanoid a wholly owned Hyundai subsidiary, according to a newspaper report.
The move would close a chapter that began in 2021, when Hyundai took a controlling interest in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank.
The Japanese group kept a minority holding, and the report says it has now told Hyundai it wants to exercise a put option, the right, agreed at the time of the original sale, to sell that remaining stake back. Hyundai is expected to convene a board meeting on 22 June to approve the purchase.
The arithmetic of ownership is already lopsided. Hyundai Motor Group, including affiliates Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis, and Hyundai Glovis, together with executive chair Euisun Chung, holds just over 90% of Boston Dynamics.
The $325m would mop up the rest, removing SoftBank from the cap table entirely and giving Hyundai undivided control of one of the best-known names in robotics.
