Emerson near deal to buy National Instruments for about $60/shr, Bloomberg says

As initially reported last night, Emerson Electric (EMR) has beat out Fortive (FTV) and now looks be in advanced stages to acquire National Instruments (NATI), Bloomberg’s Crystal Tse and Michelle Davis write, citing people familiar with the matter. Emerson is said to be in talks to pay about $60 per share for National Instruments and an announcement of the deal could come as soon as this week, the report states. The report further notes that an earlier version of Emerson’s offer valued National Instruments at $7.6B, including debt, before the company announced a strategic review on January 13. Shares of National Instruments are up 8.6% in pre-market trading at $57.10 while those of Emerson Electric are down 1.8% at $82.95 and those of Fortive are up 1.5% at $66 per share. Reference Link