PTC to buy Canada’s MKS for $292.5 million

Waterloo, Ont. — PTC has offered to pay C$292.5-million cash to buy MKS Inc., sending the Canadian software company’s stock soaring.

The Waterloo software company primary product, MKS Integrity, helps facilitate collaboration and organize development and change orders of complex software engineering projects such as the embedded software in cars, commercial jets and consumer electronics. The concept is similar to PLM for mechanical engineering; Boston-based PTC says it plans to broaden its own product offering with MKS Integrity.

MKS says its board supports PTC’s offer of C$26.20 per share — about 40 per cent above the stock’s pre-announcement market price. MKS shares were up $7.06 or 37 per cent at $26.01 at midday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Versant Partners analyst Tom Liston issued a note saying MKS has been one the best performers among those tracked by the Toronto-based investment dealer, up 61 per cent in the past six months.

“We believe that the offer is fair and thus we recommend current shareholders tender their shares,” Liston wrote.

“The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both PTC and MKS. Directors and managers representing 25 per cent of the outstanding shares have agreed to vote in favour of the transaction and therefore believe that there is a high probability that the transaction will close.”

The companies say they expect the deal to close in early June, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
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www.mks.com