Following Schneider Electric's informal offer for Invensys, the latter's share price has been trading at highs not seen since 2003.
In fact, the Invensys share price is higher than what Shneider Electric has offered, possibly because investors believe there may be a higher bid.
Invensys is now seen as a much more attractive acquisition after selling its Rail division to Siemens last year. The proceeds from the sale are being used to sort out Invensys's huge pension liabilities in the UK.
There is speculation that Emerson may re-enter negotiatons with Invensys although ABB and Honeywell are being mentioned as possibilities.
According to a report in Bloomberg, David Farr, chief executive officer of Emerson, said in September 2012 that Emerson had considered a deal with Invensys on and off for 15 years and would continue to look at the company’s process automation business.
Schneider Electric's offer is for 505 pence a share but there is market speculation that Invensys share price could be worth 550 pence a share.