The French industrial conglomerate said that having 100% ownership of AVEVA will ensure value creation for customers by combining energy and process data and developing an enterprise data hub that is complemented by specialised industrial software solutions
Schneider Electric to buy out the remaining stake in AVEVA. (Credit: Schneider Electric/Wikipedia.org)
Schneider Electric and AVEVA have agreed to the terms of an offer by the former of taking full ownership of the British industrial software company for £31 per share in cash.
The deal values 100% of AVEVA at £9.48bn.
Currently, Schneider Electric has a stake of 59.1% in the industrial software provider.
In 2018, AVEVA completed a merger with the industrial software business of Schneider Electric. Since then, the latter has been a majority stakeholder in the British firm.
Schneider Electric CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire said: “By taking 100 per cent. ownership of AVEVA, we will be able to grow the business faster by simplifying decision-making, enabling seamless interactions between teams, accelerating our investments in R&D and enabling a more coordinated sales strategy, while respecting the companies’ particular strengths, and accelerating the transition to a subscription business model under private ownership.”
AVEVA is engaged in providing end-to-end industrial digital twin to customers to help with their installations and processes throughout the lifecycle.
In the first half of 2022, AVEVA made up nearly 60% of the agnostic software revenue of Schneider Electric.
Last year, AVEVA acquired OSIsoft, a platform that caters to industrial customers by facilitating data acquisition and structuring.
Schneider Electric said that the full ownership of the British firm will ensure value creation for customers by combining energy and process data and developing an enterprise data hub that is complemented by specialised industrial software solutions.
AVEVA said that its independent committee under the advice of Lazard, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Numis ruled that the terms of the proposed deal are fair and reasonable.
AVEVA chairman Philip Aiken said: “The unanimous recommendation of the Acquisition by the Committee of Independent Directors took into consideration the value proposition for our minority shareholders as well as the interests of other stakeholders in the business.
“We are currently pursuing a strategy which will deliver further value to shareholders over the long-term. However we believe that the Acquisition represents attractive certain cash value and an accelerated, de-risked opportunity for shareholders to realise their investment in AVEVA in the near-term.”
The deal, which is subject to foreign investment and regulatory approvals in the UK, France, Germany, and Denmark along with other conditions, is expected to close in Q1 2023.