Arris to buy British set-top box maker Pace in $2.1 billion deal

- Communications equipment maker Arris Group Inc will buy British set-top box maker Pace Plc in a $2.1 billion cash-and-stock deal to expand into the satellite business and boost its business outside North America. Pace shareholders will receive 1.325 pounds ($2) in cash and 0.1455 new Arris shares for each share held, the companies said on Wednesday.Arris will fund the cash portion of the deal through a combination of cash and debt. The company said it had secured a loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to fund the transaction. On a pro forma basis, current Arris shareholders will hold about 76 percent shares in the combined company, with Pace shareholders holding the rest.The deal, expected to close by the second half of the year, is expected to add to Arris' adjusted earnings. Evercore and BofA Merrill Lynch are Arris' financial advisers for the deal, Troutman Sanders is its lead U.S. legal counsel and Herbert Smith Freehills is its lead UK legal counsel.J.P. Morgan Cazenove is Pace's lead financial adviser and Travers Smith is its lead legal counsel. (Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Kirti Pandey)