Deals
In Chasing Rockwell, Emerson Tried to Buy What It Couldn't Build
- Rockwell Automation rebuffs CEO Farr’s bid of $27.6 billion
- Acquisition attempt raises questions on Emerson’s strategy
This article is for subscribers only.
Emerson Electric Inc.’s spurned $27.6 billion bid for Rockwell Automation Inc., while not quite a desperation play, would have given its longtime boss an opportunity to buy what he failed to build.
Chief Executive Officer David Farr spent most of his 17 years at the helm of Emerson building up a business that sold computer power equipment, only to pull the plug after competition from Asia drove down profits. Rockwell, in contrast, exploited rising demand for efficiency by focusing on the software that drives factory automation.