AVEVA Group are one of the biggest movers this morning, after it was announced that a non-binding agreement had been reached on the key terms and conditions of an acquisition of selected Schneider Electric industrial software assets.

If the plans go ahead, AVEVA will acquire Schneider Electric on a debt-free cash-free basis and receive from Schneider Electric upon completion £550 million for consideration of new AVEVA shares to be issued to Schneider Electric. The Transaction will be classified as a reverse takeover of AVEVA under the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority.

Commenting on the Transaction, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric said:

“Working on a combination of AVEVA and selected Schneider Electric industrial software assets represents a promising opportunity for the stakeholders of both companies. The combination will create a global leader in industrial software, with a unique portfolio of asset management solutions from design & build to operations and will address customers’ requirements along the full asset life cycle in key industrial and infrastructure markets. It will also create the right environment for the software teams to develop aggressively their business, while benefiting from the multiple commercial access of Schneider around the world.

We believe that through increased scale, complementary footprint and joint R&D capabilities, the transaction will generate synergies that will benefit customers and shareholders alike.”

AVEVA have been the world’s leading engineering software provider to the plant, power and marine industries for over 45 years. Schneider Electric SE are a European multinational corporation that specializes in electricity distribution, automation management and produces installation components for energy management.