Top 5 investor in UK’s Aveva plans to reject Schneider takeover

LONDON (Reuters) – A top five investor in British software company Aveva plans to reject a 9.5 billion pound ($11 billion) takeover bid by French industrial group Schneider Electric, joining two other shareholders who have already said they would do the same.

Hedge fund Davidson Kempner said in a statement on Thursday that it believed the Schneider bid was “highly opportunistic” and it did not take into account Aveva’s long-term potential.

In September, when the deal was announced, Canada-based Mawer Investment Management and M&G Investments, two Aveva shareholders, said they intended to reject the offer.

Schneider Electric has offered 31 pounds per share, a premium of about 41% to Aveva’s share price in August before it announced the suitor was considering making an offer.

The French group said in October that the deal is “not an absolute must-do”.

Schneider already owns nearly 60% of Aveva. It took majority control in 2017 in a reverse takeover that enabled the British company to retain its London listing.

Davidson Kempner owns 3.8% of Aveva’s shares according to Refinitiv data, making it the no.5 shareholder. Schneider should make a higher offer, it said in its statement.

“The timing of the approach by Schneider is highly opportunistic and comes on the back of a broader market decline as well as weakness in Aveva’s own share price,” Davidson Kempner said.

Shareholders are due to vote on the deal on Nov. 17.

($1 = 0.8587 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)