In a significant development within the telecommunications industry, Keysight Technologies has emerged victorious in a bidding war against rival, VIAVI Solutions, to acquire Spirent Communications for approximately 1.16 billion pounds (USD 1.46 billion).
This acquisition marks a strategic move by Keysight Technologies to expand its presence in the market. However, the decision was not without controversy. Spirent, having previously entered into a contractual agreement with VIAVI, opted to retract its support due to the latter’s bid being 15% lower than that of Keysight.
“Following my discussions with the Keysight management team, I am excited about the broader reach and expanded long-term prospects for Spirent, arising from the combination with Keysight,” Spirent CEO, Eric Updyke, said.
Keysight’s offer represents an 85.9% premium over Spirent’s closing price of 108.4 pence on March 4, which is higher than VIAVI’s 61.4% premium.
Increasing Resources and Optimizing Product Offering
Spirent employs more than 1,500 people and serves approximately 1,100 customers in over 50 countries. Thus, Keysight’s acquisition would result in headcount reductions of less than 5% across the combined group, according to a statement.
In a statement on the London Stock Exchange, Spirent directors stated that “combining with the Keysight Group will allow the business to better serve customer needs, with increased resources and a broader product offering.”
“The Spirent directors also consider that the acquisition provides an exciting opportunity to better deal with the complexity customers are seeing in today’s world with the combined group’s broader capabilities, operational and financial power, and investment in research and development (R&D),” the statement continued.
“Our superior offer recognizes the value of Spirent’s achievements to-date, and the exciting prospects of the combination of our complementary product portfolios to provide end-to-end solutions for customers across their lifecycle needs,” said Satish Dhanasekaran, President & Chief Executive Officer of Keysight in a press release.
In light of these factors, the acquisition presents an exciting opportunity for both Spirent and Keysight Technologies to address the evolving complexities within the telecommunications industry. By leveraging the combined group’s broader capabilities, the acquisition is poised to deliver comprehensive solutions that cater to the diverse needs of customers in today’s dynamic landscape.
