Aveva and Schneider Electric end takeover talks

Discussions terminated just two days after becoming public

The two companies had sought to resurrect earlier talks (Corbis)

Schneider Electric’s second attempt to buy a majority stake in UK software maker Aveva Group proved short-lived after the two companies ended negotiations just two days after they became public.

“Following the termination of the preliminary discussions,” Aveva has applied for its share trading suspension to be lifted, the Cambridge-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Aveva shares dropped 17 per cent to 1,531p at 8.11 am in London, while Schneider shares rose 2.4 per cent to €53.98 in Paris.

A representative for Schneider Electric declined to comment on the statement.

The two companies had sought to resurrect earlier talks that snagged on concern that the integration costs would be too high.

Aveva on Monday described the latest discussions as “preliminary,” based on a deal proposal pitched six months ago whereby Schneider would buy a majority stake through a reverse takeover with a “significant cash payment” to Aveva.

That plan revived one unveiled last July to bring together the companies’ industrial software units and create a business that would help design and operate engineering projects from nuclear-power plants to diesel engines.

That deal would have seen Aveva receive £550m and issue new shares to Schneider, giving the French company 53.5 per cent of the resulting entity.

The talks ended by mutual consent, they said on 15 December.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P