Emerson Electric Co. EMR said Wednesday it agreed to acquire National Instruments Corp. NATI for $60 per share in cash, at an equity value of $8.2 billion. The price amounts to a 14% premium over its closing price of $52.58 on Tuesday. It’s also a premium of 49% over NI’s closing share price as of Jan. 12, prior to its announcement of a strategic review. The deal comes after reports of a potential tie-up between the two companies was reported by Bloomberg. Emerson currently owns about 2.3 million shares of NI, or 2% of shares outstanding. “With this expansion into test and measurement, Emerson will enhance its automation capabilities and gain a broader set of customers that relies on NI’s solutions at critical points along the product development cycle,” Emerson CEO Lal Karsanbhai said. Emerson plans to close the acquisition of NI in the first half of its fiscal 2024. Emerson Electric stock is down 1.7% in premarket trades, while National Instruments was up 9.4% prior to a trading halt.
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