ABB announced it has agreed to acquire the mission-critical communication business of the KEYMILE Group to strengthen its communication networks portfolio.

The acquisition will bring with it key products, software and service solutions, as well as research and development expertise. These will further enhance ABB’s industry-leading digital offering, ABB Ability, by adding extremely reliable communications technologies that are essential to maintain today’s dynamic and complex digital electrical grids. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the deal, an ABB release reveals.

KEYMILE is headquartered in Hanover, Germany with 350 employees globally and was founded in 2002 through a merger of three technology companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It is a leading manufacturer of mission-critical and broadband telecommunication solutions, with installations across 100 countries.

“ABB is a global leader in communication networks for utility customers. The acquisition of KEYMILE’s mission-critical communication business will strengthen this position and extend our market reach in the industrial, transportation and infrastructure sectors,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Grids division. “This move supports our growth plans and digitalization push as part of our ABB Ability offering, as we strengthen our position as the partner of choice in enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”

KEYMILE’s mission-critical communication business base includes network operators of energy grids, railways, oil and gas pipelines, as well as public authorities. The 120 employees of the acquired business will join the Grid Automation business unit of ABB’s Power Grids division.

“Reliable telecommunications become increasingly important as the number of connected devices increases. While digitalization provides opportunities for operational efficiencies and asset optimization, it also brings new complexities in maintaining mission-critical operations,” said Rolf Unterberger, CEO of KEYMILE. “We are very pleased that industry leader ABB will acquire our mission-critical communication networks business, which will enable the continued development of cutting-edge products, software and service solutions for grid operations.”