UK's AVEVA to buy US technology group OSIsoft in $5bn deal

SoftBank-backed industrial data processor OSIsoft to be snapped up by AVEVA in a deal expected to be completed by the end of this year

Industrial software maker AVEVA said today that it is buying American firm OSIsoft for $5 billion in efforts to expand its position in the technology sector.

Cambridge-based AVEVA will pay OSIsoft $4.6 billion in cash as part of the deal, while the balance will be paid in shares in the new combined entity.

In a statement, AVEVA said that the deal would enable the two companies to combine their complementary product offerings and bring together industrial software and data management to help customers "accelerate their digital transformational strategies as efficiency, flexibility, sustainability and resilience become increasingly urgent requirements for customers."

The deal would also strengthen AVEVA's position in industrial software, with combined pro forma revenue of about £1.2bn.

The OSIsoft acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the year.

After the deal is completed, OSIsoft founder Dr J. Patrick Kennedy will retain a stake in the combined company and will take up a new role as chairman emeritus.

Founded in 1980, OSIsoft is a SoftBank-backed US software group, which specialises in developing industrial data software to manage real-time data, for example, the conditions inside a manufacturing plant.

OSIsoft's PI System allows customers to capture, store and analyse data, and share real-time insights from different sources.

According to AVEVA, OSIsoft currently works with over 1,000 of the world's leading power and utilities companies, all of the Global Fortune Top 10 metals and mining firms, and 37 out of 50 of the world's largest chemical and petrochemical companies.

AVEVA, one of the Britain's oldest tech firms, was founded as CADCentre in 1967. In 2015, AVEVA acquired Derry-based 8over8 Limited for £26.9 million, and in 2018, the firm agreed to merge with French company Schneider Electric's industrial software business in a $3bn deal.

Earlier this month, AVEVA disclosed that it was in talks to purchase OSIsoft.