Hyundai Motor Group has acquired the Boston Dynamics stake held by SoftBank and will now own 100% of the company. By making Boston Dynamics a wholly owned subsidiary, the decision-making speed in its robotics business, including the humanoid robot “Atlas,” is expected to accelerate. There is also an assessment that this share restructuring is a preliminary step in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) of Boston Dynamics.

Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 16th that SoftBank had recently exercised a put option on its 10.01% stake in Boston Dynamics against the group, and that it is reviewing plans to acquire this stake. The acquisition price is reported to be around KRW 500 billion. When SoftBank acquired its stake in Boston Dynamics on 21 June 2021, it established a put option allowing it to sell the shares to Hyundai Motor Group at a specified price five years later.

Once this acquisition is completed, Hyundai Motor Group will own 100% of Boston Dynamics. Group affiliates are currently reviewing the method for acquiring the stake and the allocation ratio.

As of the end of last year, Hyundai Motor Group held 89.99% of Boston Dynamics, excluding the portion owned by SoftBank. Specifically, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun owns 22.50%, HMG Global 56.24%, and Hyundai Glovis 11.25%. HMG Global is an overseas investment specialist company in which Hyundai Motor, Kia and Hyundai Mobis hold stakes.

This additional stake acquisition follows the procedures set out in the prior agreement between Hyundai Motor Group and SoftBank. HMG Global and Hyundai Glovis newly established call options on the relevant shares in August last year. Because of this, even if SoftBank had chosen not to exercise its put option and attempted to continue holding its Boston Dynamics shares, Hyundai Motor Group would have been able to forcibly acquire SoftBank’s stake from 21 July this year.

Regarding the full acquisition of the stake, Hyundai Motor Group stated that it “expects this will serve as an important opportunity to increase the speed of future decision-making and business execution.” As the group comes to exercise complete control over Boston Dynamics, there are projections that the timeline for deploying Atlas on the production line of “Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA)” in Georgia, United States, planned for 2028, could be brought forward.

Preparations for a Boston Dynamics IPO are also expected to gain momentum. Industry observers view this share restructuring as preliminary work in anticipation of an IPO, as it is generally common to conduct a subsidiary’s IPO when the parent company owns 100% of its shares.

The absence of external shareholders also simplifies the listing process. Although the specific timing and method of Boston Dynamics’ listing have not yet been decided, the industry considers a Nasdaq listing in the United States around 2027–2028 to be highly likely.

The market values Boston Dynamics at more than KRW 30 trillion. Compared with the valuation of about KRW 1.2482 trillion when Hyundai Motor Group completed the acquisition of Boston Dynamics in June 2021, the company’s valuation has increased by at least around 24 times.

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