Emerson announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Rockwell Automation for $225 per share due to the Rockwell board of directors’ continued unwillingness to engage in discussions about a potential combination.
“The Rockwell board again rejected our offer, which would have delivered approximately $30bn of value to Rockwell shareholders,” said David N Farr, chairman and CEO. “We are disappointed that the Rockwell board refused even to discuss the potential combination of our two great companies. Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue, the Rockwell board decided to let this unique and value-generative opportunity go unexplored.”
“We remain confident in the strategic plans we have in place, and in Emerson’s ability to create a global automation leader with a technology portfolio to meet evolving customer needs across process, hybrid and discrete product lines. Our company is in a great position – we have successfully repositioned our portfolio over the last two years, and have market-leading platforms in automation solutions, and commercial and residential solutions, both of which are performing well and have very attractive growth outlooks. Our future is bright, and we remain focused on accelerating core growth through new market penetration, technology innovation and strategic bolt-on acquisitions,” added Farr.
“We are also committed to returning capital to shareholders through our strong and growing dividend and our share repurchase programme. Management believes the company’s shares are an attractive investment opportunity. Accordingly, we plan to accelerate repurchases over the next month and buy back up to $1bn over the next 12 months. We look forward to executing on this strategy to drive near- and long-term value creation for all Emerson stakeholders,” concluded Farr.
