Slaughter and May is advising Schneider Electric SE on its recommended cash offer for Aveva Group Plc

Slaughter and May is advising Schneider Electric SE (Schneider Electric) on a recommended cash offer by Ascot Acquisition Holdings Limited, a newly-formed company indirectly owned by Schneider Electric, for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of AVEVA Group plc (AVEVA) (excluding AVEVA shares held by Samos Acquisition Company Limited (Samos), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Schneider Electric). Schneider Electric issued an announcement setting out, amongst other things, the key terms of the acquisition on 21 September 2022.

Under the terms of the acquisition, each AVEVA shareholder (other than Samos or any other member of the Schneider Electric group) will be entitled to receive 3,100 pence for each AVEVA share in cash. The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of AVEVA at approximately £9,482 million on a fully diluted basis.

It is intended that the acquisition will be implemented by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary foreign direct investment conditions, the acquisition is expected to complete during the first quarter of 2023.

Schneider Electric is the global leader in the digital transformation of energy and automation digital solutions for sustainability and efficiency with operations in more than 100 countries. In March 2018, AVEVA combined with Schneider Electric Software to create a global leader in engineering and operations industrial software. It also established a strategically important relationship with Schneider Electric, both as a business partner and as a majority shareholder in AVEVA.