France's Schneider Electric to buy Aveva in £9.5bn deal

France’s Schneider Electric said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy London-listed software firm Aveva in a £9.5bn deal.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Schneider will pay 3,100p per share for the roughly 40% of Aveva it does not already own. This is a premium of around 41% to the closing share price on 23 August, which was the last business day before the start of the offer period.

Schneider chief executive Jean-Pascal Tricoire said: "By taking 100% 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 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."