© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Emerson Electric Co is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
By David Carnevali and Anirban Sen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Industrial conglomerate Emerson (NYSE:) Electric is in advanced talks to acquire National Instruments (NASDAQ:) Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Emerson outbid other bidders including Fortive (NYSE:) Corp and Keysight Technologies (NYSE:) Inc in the final stages of a sale process for National Instruments with an offer of about $60 per share, the sources said.
The deal could be announced as soon as this week, the sources said, cautioning that the talks could fall apart at the eleventh hour. The sources requested anonymity as these discussions are confidential.
National Instruments launched a formal sale process in January after Emerson threatened to challenge its board if it did not engage in deal negotiations. Emerson dropped its hostile bid once the auction for National Instruments got underway.
