- Offer values Spectris at £4.4 billion
- Advent paying an 85% premium
- KKR not out of the running yet
Precision instrumentation and controls maker Spectris (SXS) said it had agreed terms with funds managed or advised by US private equity firm Advent International to take over the UK company for £4.4 billion including around £600 million of debt.
Spectris shares jumped 500p or 15% to £37.82, taking them to the top of the FTSE 250 leader board.
ADVANTAGE ADVENT, FOR NOW
On 9 June, following press speculation, Spectris revealed it had received an all-cash offer of £37.63 per share from Advent, which included the proposed interim dividend of 28p per share.
At the time, the shares were trading just above the £20 level, but they closed the day above £32, with around 10 times the normal daily number of shares changing hands.
A few days later, again following media speculation, Spectris admitted it had also been approached more than once by rival US buyout firm KKR (KKR:NYSE) but it had rejected its proposals and was continuing talks with Advent.
Following today’s announcement, KKR has said it will continue its due diligence on Spectris and work out its financing arrangements.
Under the takeover rules, KKR has until 11 July to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Spectris, meaning this story could run for several more weeks.
85% PREMIUM
Advent said it had ‘has long admired Spectris and been particularly impressed by the management team’s repositioning of the business since 2018 through a combination of portfolio rationalisation and targeted investment in priority areas’.
The buyout firm described itself as ‘a sophisticated and responsible global financial investor with significant deployable capital and a clear focus on partnering with management teams to foster innovation in businesses with excellent growth potential’.
Spectris chairman Mark Williamson said the Advent offer, which was at an 85% premium to the undisturbed share price, represented ‘strong and immediate cash value for shareholders at an attractive premium.’
