Engineering and software firm Emerson Electric has submitted a new bid to acquire Austin-based National Instruments Corp., or NI.
The deal is valued at $7.6 billion and would require purchasing outstanding National Instruments stock at $53 per share. It is the latest deal in a series of bids that began in May of last year.
“Acquiring NI is another step forward in Emerson’s journey to develop a cohesive, higher growth and higher margin portfolio and build on its global automation focus. As Emerson outlined at our recent investor conference, we are transforming our portfolio toward higher-growth automation markets aligned with secular macro trends, which will deliver significant growth and profitability for years to come,” Lal Karsanbhai, president and CEO of Emerson, said in a statement.
National Instruments is a software and engineering firm that develops automation tools for researchers and engineers. The company was founded in 1976 and went public in 1995.
With the news of the acquisition bid, NI’s stock hit an all-time high of $53.42 per share, according to Crunchbase.
National Instruments is one of Austin’s largest tech employers. According to the Austin Business Journal, it employs over 2,243 local workers. National Instruments is also currently hiring for several roles in Austin.
