Industrial automation provider ABB today announced an offer to acquire Chloride Group PLC, a U.K.-based maker of uninterruptible power supplies, for roughly £860 million, or $1.2 billion, besting an earlier offer from automation competitor Emerson Electric.
ABB’s 325 pence per share offer exceeds Emerson’s 275 pence per share bid two months ago for Chloride, which reported £336 million in revenue in 2010.
Chloride’s board has agreed to take ABB’s offer to shareholders for approval in a meeting in late July. Under the proposed agreement, shareholders would also receive a final dividend of 3.3 pence per share.
“The combination of Chloride’s strong position in the fast-growing medium- to high-power UPS business with ABB’s global reach and complementary power and automation offering provides significant growth opportunities for both businesses, said Joe Hogan, ABB’s CEO, in a statement.