Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, the US-based technology company will pay $53 per share in cash to the shareholders of National Instruments
Emerson Electric makes acquisition offer to buy National Instruments. (Simon Kadula on Unsplash)
Emerson Electric has made an acquisition offer to buy US-based automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software producer National Instruments in a deal that has an implied enterprise value of $7.6bn.
Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, the US-based technology firm will pay $53 per share in cash to the shareholders of National Instruments.
The merger proposal, which is not subject to any financing conditions, has been revised over an initial $48 per share offer submitted by Emerson in May 2022.
According to Emerson, the proposed acquisition offer represents a 32% premium to National Instruments closing trade price as of 12 January 2023.
Through the acquisition, Emerson expects to obtain a robust, complementary portfolio of electronic test and measurement capabilities, along with a technology stack of intelligent devices, controls and software that would support the company’s technology stack in its core automation markets.
Emerson stated that the merger is anticipated to lead to the expansion and diversification of its customer base within desirable end markets, including aerospace and defence, semiconductor, and automotive and electric vehicles.
Emerson CEO Lal Karsanbhai said: “Although Emerson would have preferred to reach an agreement privately, given NI’s announcement that it is undertaking a strategic review, and after refusing to work with us toward a premium cash transaction over the past eight months, we are making our interest public for the benefit of all NI shareholders.
“Acquiring NI is another step forward in Emerson’s journey to develop a cohesive, higher growth and higher margin portfolio and build on its global automation focus.”
In November 2022, Emerson signed a definitive agreement to divest a 55% stake in its climate technologies unit to private equity funds managed by Blackstone in a deal that values the business at $14bn.