Nearly a year after Ferguson, Missouri-based Emerson first launched its campaign to acquire Austin, Texas-based National Instruments, it has struck a deal that values the company at $8.2 billion.
Emerson has been attempting to push National Instruments to the bargaining table for an acquisition since May of 2022. In January, Emerson publicly disclosed the details of its attempts, in an effort to build support from National Instruments' shareholders.
The deal is part of Emerson's goals to grow the company's automation solutions business. Emerson CEO Lal Karsanbhai said in a statement Wednesday that it will diversify his company and broaden its customer base.
Emerson's initial offer for National Instruments was $48 per share, or about $6.67 billion. It later upped its offer to $53 per share, or $7.6 billion. That increase had some investors concerned about how high Emerson would eventually take its offer price. Karsanbhai gave multiple public assurances to investors that the company would walk away if the dollar amount rose too high.
The deal announced Wednesday values National Instruments at $60 per share, or $8.2 billion. Emerson already owns 2.3 million shares, or about 2% of National Instruments.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of Emerson's fiscal year. Emerson will finance the transaction, in part, with $8 billion from the sale of its Climate Technologies business to New York-based investment firm Blackstone.
