Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) has confirmed an agreement to buy National Instruments (NASDAQ:NATI) (NI) in a US$8.2 billion deal.
Emerson will acquire NI for $60 per share. The company already owns around 2.3 million shares of NI, which were acquired at a weighted average price of $36.84.
As a result, Emerson's effective per share purchase price is $59.61, the company noted in a statement.
The deal is the culmination of Emerson’s months-long saga to acquire the automation company.
In January 2023, Emerson launched a $7.6 billion hostile bid for NI after multiple rebuffed attempts. In November 2022, the firm offered $53 per share, in cash, up from the initial $48 per share proposal submitted in May 2022.
"We are pleased to reach an agreement with NI, whose best-in-class test and measurement product and software offerings accelerate Emerson's progress toward a cohesive, higher growth and higher margin automation portfolio," said Lal Karsanbhai, Emerson’s CEO.
Eric Starkloff, NI’s CEO, told shareholders that the firm underwent a “robust and comprehensive process,” where it considered a range of potential options, and believes this represents the best outcome for all NI stakeholders.
This transaction is a strong testament to the improvements and initiatives we've implemented in recent years that have transformed NI into a software-focused company with higher growth, better profitability and lower cyclicality,” Starkloff said.
Shares of NI were up nearly 9.4% in premarket trading on Wednesday, while Emerson shares were down 1.8%.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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