Chinese robot-mower maker to buy struggling German manufacturer
LDRobot agreed to spend up to €6 million (about US$6.7 million) on the firm, dating to 1932, to reach more than 1,400 European dealers.
What does a Chinese maker of robot lawn mowers want with a German company that sells the conventional kind? Mostly its dealers.
Hong Kong-listed LDRobot (樂動機器人) agreed on Oct. 7 to buy SABO-Maschinenfabrik, a lawn-mower maker based in Gummersbach, Germany, and incorporated in 1932, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. LDRobot will pay €1 million (about US$1.1 million) for the shares and put in up to €5 million (about US$5.6 million) of fresh capital for liquidity, no more than €6 million in all.
SABO sells petrol and battery mowers, leaf blowers and other garden machines through more than 1,400 specialist retailers in Europe. Its unaudited revenue fell from about €22.6 million (about US$25.3 million) in 2024 to about €18.2 million (about US$20.4 million) in 2025, which the filing puts down to insufficient product innovation and intelligent features.
LDRobot makes visual perception products and algorithm modules, and says it put three generations of robot mowers into mass production from 2024 to 2026. It plans to sell them through SABO's dealer network. The deal still needs clearance for LDRobot's outbound investment and a third party's consent to the change of control.
Sources: LDROBOT (HKEX filing)
Editor: Ian Lamont
