Keysight Technologies has outbid rival Viavi Solutions to buy Spirent Communications for about 1.16 billion pounds ($1.46 billion) on Thursday, winning a battle over the UK telecoms testing firm's expertise in automation. Shares in London-listed Spirent were up 10.6% to 198.0 pence as of 0957 GMT. Electronic equipment maker Keysight offered 201.5 pence per share, topping Viavi's 175 pence bid in early March.
Spirent possesses capabilities in software, cloud, and automation technologies as next-generation communication networks including 6G become increasingly software-based, driven by advances in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Spirent, which had earlier agreed to a deal with Viavi, withdrew its support as it was 15% lower than the Keysight offer.
"Following my discussions with the Keysight management team, I am excited about the broader reach and expanded long-term prospects for Spirent arising from the combination with Keysight," Spirent CEO Eric Updyke said.
Keysight's offer represents a premium of 85.9% to Spirent's closing price of 108.4 pence on March 4, higher than Viavi's 61.4% premium.
Viavi said on Friday that its offer for Spirent represented "certain value" and added that Keysight's acquisition would further "entrench" its position in many product segments and lead to customer choices being limited.
In early March, Viavi had agreed to buy Spirent for about 1.01 billion pounds.
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