Gold prices steady, holding sharp gains in wake of soft U.S. jobs data
LONDON - Advent International has increased its takeover offer for British precision measurement firm Spectris (LON:SXS) plc to £41.00 per share, surpassing a rival bid from KKR and securing a recommendation from the Spectris board.
The revised offer, announced Friday, comprises £40.72 in cash plus an interim dividend of 28 pence per share. The new proposal values Spectris at approximately £4.2 billion and represents a 2.5% premium to KKR’s earlier offer of £40.00 per share.
In light of the higher bid, Spectris directors have unanimously withdrawn their previous recommendation for KKR’s offer and now intend to support the Advent proposal. The company plans to adjourn shareholder meetings related to the KKR offer that were scheduled for August 27.
The increased offer represents a premium of 101.2% to Spectris’ closing price of £20.38 on June 6, the last business day before the offer period began. It implies an enterprise value of approximately £4.8 billion, representing 20 times Spectris’ adjusted EBITDA for 2024.
Advent’s revised bid follows a competitive process that began when Advent initially offered £37.63 per share on June 23, which was subsequently topped by KKR’s £40.00 per share proposal on July 2.
The acquisition is expected to be implemented through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, with completion anticipated in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
The additional funding for the increased offer will come from equity provided by Advent, CPP Investments, and Auba Investment, according to the statement based on a press release.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.