PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – French industrial group Schneider Electric said it would proceed with a full takeover of British software company Aveva Plc, offering 31 pounds per share in a deal valuing the whole of Aveva at around 9.48 billion pounds ($10.8 billion).
Schneider said its offer of 31 pounds represented a premium of around 41 percent to Aveva’s closing share price of 21.92 pounds on August 23 – before Schneider first stated its intentions to consider a full buyout.
Schneider already owns nearly 60% of Aveva. It took majority control of Aveva in 2017 in a reverse takeover that enabled the British company to retain its London listing. The French group paid 3 billion pounds at that time.
Aveva’s products are used to design and manage oil rigs, ships and chemical plants, while the French multinational spans electrical components, energy management and industrial automation systems.
Schneider added that any interim dividend of up to 13 pence per AVEVA Share would still be paid to AVEVA Shareholders without any reductions.
($1 = 0.8809 pounds)
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Paul Sandle; Editing by GV De Clercq/Sudip Kar-Gupta)
