KKR Agrees To Buy UK’s Spectris For $5.6B, Pipping Rival Bid From Advent

KKR & Co. (KKR) on Wednesday agreed to buy UK-based Spectris for 4.1 billion euros ($5.6 billion), outbidding an earlier offer from Advent International.

Precision-measurement company Spectris said its board will now recommend that shareholders vote for KKR’s 40 pounds a share offer, which includes 39.72 euros in cash and a 28 pence-per-share dividend.

The new deal has a 6.3% premium compared to Advent’s offer and is 96% higher than the company’s share price on June 6, the day before news of potential deals first emerged. The Advent deal had valued the business at 3.8 billion pounds on June 23.

KKR has already made two prior takeover proposals for the company, which develops high-tech instruments, testing equipment, and software used in various sectors, including life sciences. The U.S.-based private equity firm said that Spectris commands such a valuation as it is an attractive asset, particularly after it trimmed costs and sold assets to focus on “higher quality businesses.”

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about KKR was in the ‘bullish’ territory, while retail chatter was ‘high.’

“This attractive offer from KKR recognises the quality of Spectris, our people, and our strong growth prospects. Our success in recent years has been driven by exceptionally talented people united behind a common purpose and ambition,” Spectris CEO Andrew Heath said.

Analysts at Stifel reportedly said that the ball is now back in Advent's court, and “having stalked Spectris for an extended period, there must be some chance that it keeps fighting." Advent had previously reserved the right to increase its offer for Spectris if a competing bid was made.

On Tuesday, KKR agreed to acquire ProTen, one of Australia's largest agricultural infrastructure businesses, from Aware Super for an undisclosed amount.

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