Eaton Corporation agreed to pay $11.8 billion in cash and stock for Cooper Industries plc on May 21 in the second-largest M&A transaction of 2012. Cooper supplies equipment used in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity and wiring and related components to electric utilities around the world, while Eaton is a diversified industrial manufacturer.
The buyer will pay $39.15 in cash and about $32.85 in stock per share for Cooper, a 29 percent premium to the target’s closing price on May 19, the last trading day before the deal was announced. The parties hope to close the deal by the end of the year pending approvals from both sets of shareholders, regulators, and the High Court of Ireland.
