Emerson Elec Co - EMR STOCK NEWS

Elliott Investment Management, managing funds with over $1.5 billion investment in Aspen Technology (NASDAQ: AZPN), has issued a statement criticizing Emerson Electric's tender offer for remaining AspenTech shares. Elliott strongly opposes the acquisition attempt, characterizing it as a conflicted and deeply flawed process that resembles an opportunistic minority squeeze-out.

The investment firm argues that Emerson's public statements and actions leading to the tender offer demonstrate coercive intent toward minority stockholders. Elliott has declared the transaction unfair and plans to pursue all appropriate remedies against Emerson.

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) has responded to Elliott Investment Management's statement regarding its tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of AspenTech (NASDAQ: AZPN) not already owned by Emerson. The offer stands at $265 per share in cash, representing Emerson's best and final price following three months of negotiations with AspenTech's Special Committee.

The offer, set to expire on March 10, 2025, requires a majority of minority shares to be tendered for completion. The AspenTech Special Committee, comprising three independent directors, unanimously recommends the transaction as superior to AspenTech's standalone prospects. If the tender offer expires without meeting the majority condition, Emerson will maintain its existing majority ownership stake in AspenTech, which would remain a publicly-traded controlled company.

Elliott Investment Management, managing funds with over $1.5 billion investment in Aspen Technology (NASDAQ: AZPN), has publicly opposed the recently announced tender offer by Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR). Emerson, AspenTech's majority stockholder, proposed to acquire the remaining shares it doesn't own at $265.00 per share.

As AspenTech's largest minority investor, Elliott stated that Emerson's offer is highly opportunistic and substantially undervalues the company. The investment firm has declared it will not tender its shares at the current price.

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) reported strong Q1 2025 results with net sales reaching $4,175 million, up 1% from the previous year. The company demonstrated significant improvements in profitability, with pretax earnings margin expanding to 18.6% from 4.2% year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per share increased 13% to $1.38, while operating cash flow grew 75% to $777 million.

The company updated its fiscal 2025 outlook, projecting net sales growth of 1.5-3.5% and underlying sales growth of 3-5%. Emerson plans to return approximately $3.2 billion to shareholders through $2.0 billion in share repurchases and $1.2 billion in dividend payments. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5275 per share, payable March 10, 2025.

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) has announced an agreement to acquire the remaining shares of AspenTech (NASDAQ: AZPN) for $265.00 per share in an all-cash tender offer. The transaction values the minority stake at $7.2 billion, with a total company valuation of $17.0 billion in market capitalization and $16.8 billion in enterprise value.

Emerson currently owns approximately 57% of AspenTech following its majority investment in 2022. The transaction, unanimously approved by both companies' boards and recommended by AspenTech's Special Committee, will make AspenTech a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerson. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to customary conditions, including a non-waivable requirement that majority of minority stockholders tender their shares.

Upon completion, AspenTech will cease trading on NASDAQ. Emerson plans to finance the acquisition through cash on hand and debt financing.

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) has announced its schedule for first quarter 2025 earnings release and conference call. The company will release its Q1 2025 results before market open on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. Senior management will host an investor conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Central Time) on the same day.

Interested parties can access the live conference call and presentation slides through Emerson's website in the Investors section at www.Emerson.com/investors after completing a registration form. The conference call replay will remain available on the website for three months after the webcast.

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) has been awarded the 'Industrial IoT Innovation of the Year' at the 9th annual IoT Breakthrough Awards for its DeltaV™ Workflow Management software. This next-generation, cloud-based solution helps life sciences companies digitize drug recipe workflows, replacing paper-based records with digital ones.

The software is specifically designed for early-stage development companies with IT infrastructure, requiring no coding experience. It enables simple recipe authoring, execution, and electronic data capture, while generating searchable, exportable digital records. This digital transformation helps minimize contamination risks in sterile clean rooms and accelerates therapy commercialization.

The 2025 IoT Breakthrough Awards program received over 3,850 global nominations. Notably, Emerson has maintained a consistent presence in these awards since 2018, providing automation technologies to the top 25 life sciences companies worldwide. The recognition highlights Emerson's contribution to helping life sciences companies scale and deliver drugs to market safely and efficiently.

Merck (MRK) announced that Surendralal L. 'Lal' Karsanbhai, president and CEO of Emerson Electric Co., will join its board of directors effective January 1, 2025. Karsanbhai will stand for election by shareholders in May 2025, bringing the total board membership to 13. With a career at Emerson since 1995, Karsanbhai became its CEO in 2021. He currently serves as deputy chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and on the US-China Business Council board.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) has formed a special committee of three independent directors to evaluate a non-binding acquisition proposal from Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR). The proposal was received on November 5, 2024. Emerson and its affiliates currently own 57.4% of AspenTech's outstanding common shares.

The Special Committee includes Board Chair Robert Whelan, Jr. (Committee Chair), Arlen Shenkman, and David Henshall. Qatalyst Partners and Citi are serving as financial advisors, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provides legal counsel. No immediate action is required from shareholders.