Aveva boss quits after deal with Schneider Electric fails for second time

Longdon has worked for Aveva for three decades and was at its helm for 17

Mr Longdon has worked for Aveva for three decades and was at its helm for 17 years

Aveva, the engineering and software developer, has said that chief executive Richard Longdon is stepping down after 33 years at the company, weeks after another failed attempt at a merger with Schneider Electric.

Mr Longdon has worked for Aveva for three decades and was at its helm for 17 years.

Mr Longdon said the company was "resilient and in great financial health”. He leaves at the end of the year.

He will be replaced by James Kidd, chief financial officer, who has been a member of the board since 2011.

Talks for a merger with Schneider Electric were abandoned for the second time in a year in June, sending Aveva shares plunging 17 per cent.

Under the terms of the proposed merger, Schneider, the French energy giant, planned to merge its software unit, which employes 2,000 people, with Aveva, giving Schneider a majority stake in the Cambridge-based firm.

The collapse of the first round of talks in December wiped off a third of the company's value. In May, Aveva reported a decline in revenue and profits for the year ended 31 March.

Analysts said the tie-up would not get another change.

“So Aveva is left to its own devices – and the structural weaknesses in the firm’s business model, as highlighted by this deal, remain unaddressed," George O’Connor, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said.

Aveva specialises in information management solutions and engineering design. It grew out of the government-funded Computer-Aided Design Centre established in 1967.