Advent May Acquire Swiss Tech Firm u-blox Holding

Two days after receiving a potential transaction for acquisition by private equity firm Advent International, the Swiss-based u-blox Holding AG, a global provider of leading positioning and short-range communication technologies and services, on Sunday announced that it has entered into a binding transaction agreement with ZI Zenith.

Under this agreement, ZI Zenith will launch a public tender offer to acquire all publicly held registered shares of u-blox at a price of $167.33 per share in cash.

The offer represents a 53% premium to the undisturbed volume-weighted average share price of the last 6 months until 14 August 2025, and a 32% premium to the undisturbed volume-weighted average share price of the last 60 trading days of u-blox shares until 14 August 2025, before the media first reported on a potential transaction.

Ronald Ayles, Managing Partner at Advent, said that u-blox is a recognised leader in high-performance positioning and short-range communication technology solutions.

Ayles said that they were excited about the opportunity to partner with the u-blox management team and co-founders, and support this innovative technology champion through its next chapter of growth.

“We are deeply committed to invest in the long-term success of u-blox, using our extensive experience and resources in automotive and industrial end-markets to accelerate innovation and expand its global reach. Advent has a long and successful track record of partnering with founders and management teams to deliver sustainable value creation,” Ayles added.

Attractive Opportunity

u-blox Chairman André Muller and CEO Stephan Zizala said that they believe this transaction represents a highly attractive opportunity for their shareholders, customers and employees because it enables their company to pursue its long-term strategic objectives with greater flexibility, backed by a strong and experienced financial partner.

“Advent shares our vision for the company’s future, and we are excited about its intention to support and accelerate our growth and innovation pipeline,” they added.

u-blox’s Board of Directors has unanimously concluded that the transaction is in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders. The Board recommended that shareholders accept the offer and has committed, along with the Management team, to tender all their shares. The Board’s recommendation is supported by an independent fairness opinion stating that the offer price is fair from a financial point of view. In addition, u-blox’s largest individual shareholder, SEO Master Fund LP, holding approximately 9% of the outstanding shares, has committed to tender all of its shares.

The tender offer is subject to terms and conditions as well as regulatory approvals customary for this type of transaction and is expected to be settled within the next six months. The intention is to then delist u-blox shares from the SIX Swiss Exchange.

It may be recalled that u-blox has confirmed Friday that it was in negotiations with Advent International for a potential takeover, after earlier reports revealed that the potential deal could value the company at around $1.2 billion.