Keysight outbids Viavi in effort to acquire Crawley’s Spirent Communications
Keysight Technologies has swooped in hoping to acquire West Sussex-based Spirent Communications for £1.16 billion – outbidding rival American firm Viavi by 15 per cent.
As reported by The Business Magazine, last month Spirent had agreed a deal with network testing firm Viavi, which was prepared to offer 175 pence per share.
But the Crawley business has now withdrawn support and may instead opt for electronic equipment maker Keysight’s superior proposal of 201.5 pence per share.
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Eric Updyke, CEO of Spirent, said: “Following my discussions with the Keysight management team, I’m excited about the broader reach and expanded long-term prospects for Spirent arising from the combination with Keysight.
“The market environment remains challenging, but with this strong strategic fit – bringing together our complementary services and solutions – we’re confident in the opportunities this will bring for our stakeholders.”
Spirent employs more than 1,500 employees – almost 5 per cent of whom, says Keysight, will be leaving the company as part of the acquisition.
Viavi argued Friday that its own acquisition offer ‘represents certain value’ due to its limited business overlap with Spirent.
The company went on to say that ‘the proposed combination of Keysight and Spirent would further entrench Keysight’s leading position in many product segments, which would limit customer choice’.
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