SoftBank to sell its 9.6% stake Put option agreement worth about 500 billion won Final decision to be made at an extraordinary board meeting Move to strengthen control and speed up IPO Boston Dynamics research unit RAI To be sold to SoftBank for $100 million Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas practices a soccer pass. Hyundai Motor Group Hyundai Motor Group will buy additional shares in Boston Dynamics and turn it into a wholly owned subsidiary. The group will acquire all of the 9.65% stake held by SoftBank Group Corp., led by Son Masayoshi. As a result, Chung Eui-sun and the group companies will own 100% of Boston Dynamics. The acquisition price has been set at $325 million, or about 500 billion won. Under the put option, the deal will be executed at the price agreed when the contract was signed. Boston Dynamics was valued at 30 trillion won last year, but with interest in Physical AI surging sharply this year and related companies' stock prices and valuations rising, Hyundai's purchase price is seen as relatively low compared with the company's current value. According to business and investment banking sources on the 19th, major Hyundai Motor Group affiliates will each hold extraordinary board meetings this month, starting on the 22nd, to approve the acquisition of all Boston Dynamics shares held by SoftBank. By bringing Boston Dynamics in as a wholly owned subsidiary, the group is expected to accelerate the commercialization of the humanoid robot Atlas and its planned listing on Nasdaq. When SoftBank sold Boston Dynamics to Hyundai Motor Group, it retained part of its stake and attached a put option, giving it the right to sell under specified conditions. As the exercise deadline for that option approaches on the 20th, SoftBank recently informed Hyundai Motor Group of its intention to sell its Boston Dynamics stake. Hyundai Motor Group is said to have decided earlier this month to buy all of the shares held by SoftBank. Until now, attention has focused on whether SoftBank would exercise the put option and who would acquire the stake. Boston Dynamics has been regarded as the company with the strongest technology in the field of Physical AI, especially in robots that can be deployed in industrial settings. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun inspects a vehicle at the Genesis Magma Race pit garage during the Le Mans 24 Hours in Le Mans, France, on the 12th. [Genesis] As of the end of last year, Chung Eui-sun held a 22.6% stake in Boston Dynamics, while Hyundai Motor Company owned 28%, Kia 17.2%, Hyundai Mobis Company Limited 11.3%, and Hyundai Glovis 11.25%. SoftBank held the remaining 9.65%. Hyundai Motor Group and SoftBank will also reorganize their cooperation structure in robotics and AI as they settle the shareholding arrangement. At the same time as the stake acquisition, Hyundai Motor Group is also pushing to sell the RAI Institute, a robotics and AI research center it co-founded with Boston Dynamics, to SoftBank for about $100 million. The RAI Institute is a research organization founded in 2022 by Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert. Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis Company Limited invested a total of $424 million, or about 550 billion won at the time, and Boston Dynamics also joined through an equity investment. The institute conducts advanced research in areas such as general-purpose AI and robot intelligence. Hyundai Motor Group has recently been expanding the use of humanoid robots, focusing on factory automation, logistics, and services, while pushing ahead with the commercialization of Atlas. With the shareholding arrangement now settled, management decisions are expected to move faster, giving additional momentum to Atlas commercialization and Boston Dynamics' future IPO plans.

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