Emerson Electric Co. on Tuesday went public with its proposal to purchase system testing company National Instruments for $7.6 billion.

Emerson, smarting from National Instruments' board announcing preemptively on Friday that it would conduct a strategic review of the company, said all of National Instruments' shareholders deserve to know what they put on the table.

"Although Emerson would have preferred to reach an agreement privately, given NI's announcement that it is undertaking a strategic review, and after refusing to work with us toward a premium cash transaction over the past eight months, we are making our interest public for the benefit of all NI shareholders," said Lal Karsanbhai, president and CEO of Emerson, in a statement.

Based in Ferguson, Mo., Emerson is a Fortune 500 company that manufactures products and provides engineering services for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets with more than 86,000 employees.

The Texas-based National Instruments is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software.

Emerson's proposal was presented to the National Instruments' board on Nov. 3 at $53 per share, above the $48 it offered earlier in the year.

Emerson said it would pay immediate and certain cash value for all National Instruments shareholders; a 32% premium to National Instruments' closing share price as of January 12, 2023, and a 45% premium to National Instruments' closing share price as of Nov. 3, 2022, among other agreements.

"Acquiring NI is another step forward in Emerson's journey to develop a cohesive, higher growth and higher margin portfolio and build on its global automation focus," Karsanbhai said.

"As Emerson outlined at our recent investor conference, we are transforming our portfolio toward higher-growth automation markets aligned with secular macro trends, which will deliver significant growth and profitability for years to come."

Shares of National Instruments were up nearly 13% at around noon on Tuesday following the news.

National Instruments said its comprehensive review would consider strategic, business and financial alternatives and potential interest from other companies, though never mentioning the Emerson proposal.

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