Arris-Pace deal gets share approval by UK court

Arris has said that its planned US$2.1 billion (€1.95 billion) takeover of Pace is now expected to close on January 4, 2016, after a UK court approved its share scheme for the deal.

The High Court of Justice in England and Wales conditionally sanctioned the scheme of arrangement by which Arris will acquire Pace in a ruling yesterday.

Arris said trading in the ordinary shares of Arris International – the new parent company of Arris – will begin on January 5, 2016 on the NASDAQ under the company’s current ticker symbol ‘ARRS.’

The deal is expected to close early next month subject to the December 22 expiration of the “mandatory waiting period” set out as part of the deal approval granted by Brazil’s completion Authority CADE.

Arris agreed to buy Pace in April having started mutual discussions with its rival a month earlier.

At the time of the agreement, Arris said it expected the deal to close in the second half of 2015. It also said that Pace will give it a combined workforce of 8,500 employees globally, will “significantly enhance” Arrris’ international presence and provide “large scale entry into the satellite segment” – as well as a broader product portfolio in equipment, software and services.