28 March 2024 Mergers and Acquisitions

Linklaters advises Spirent Communications plc on its c. £1.16bn recommended competing offer from Keysight Technologies Inc.

Linklaters is pleased to be advising Spirent Communications plc, a leading global provider of automated test and assurance solutions, on its recommended competing cash offer by Keysight Technologies Inc.

The transaction values Spirent at approximately £1.16bn, and under the deal Spirent shareholders will receive a total acquisition value of 201.5 pence per Spirent share. This follows the announcement on 5 March 2024 by the boards of Spirent and Viavi Solutions Inc. that it had agreed the terms of a recommended cash offer for Viavi to acquire Spirent for a total acquisition value of 175 pence per Spirent share.

The acquisition represents a c. 15% increase to Viavi’s offer and provides Spirent shareholders with greater value, whilst providing further opportunities for the Spirent Group’s employees and strengthening its customer offering.

The cross-practice team advising Spirent is being led by Corporate Partners Matthew Hearn and James Inglis, Corporate Managing Associate Thomas Bishop, Employment & Incentives Partner Alexandra Beidas and Antitrust & Foreign Investment Partner Neil Hoolihan.

The broader core Linklaters team includes Namrata Shah, Sarah Nicholson, Angela Li, Lucinda Campbell, Deborah Wong, Julie Sharp, Janet Lee, Stephanie Creese, Kayleigh Ansell, Sarah Kelly and Jakob Šešok.

This is the latest in a series of high-profile takeover transactions involving Linklaters’ UK Public M&A team, where we have advised on three out of the five firm offers over £1bn in 2024. Recent transactions on which the team have advised include: