BSR
BSR
  • Home
  • Distressed Businesses
    • All Distressed Businessess
    • Administrations
    • Liquidations
    • Winding Up
    • Insolvency Advice  New
  • Buy a Business
    • All Businesses for Sale
    • Find a Business for Sale
    • Raising Business Finance
    • Buyer Acquisition Service   New
    • Escrow Service   New
  • Sell a Business
    • Sell Your Business
    • Seller Accounts
    • Need Help Selling?
    • Help With Finance New
    • Business Valuation
    • Business Wanted Adverts
  • Insights & News
    • View All News
    • View All Insights
  • Off-market
    • Source deals
  • Log In
  • Join Now
Join now
11111111

Home / News / Defence tech firm acquired in £2.6bn deal - CMA to investigate [UPDATED]

Defence tech firm acquired in £2.6bn deal - CMA to investigate [UPDATED]

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 | BUSINESS SALE

Defence tech firm acquired in £2.6bn deal - CMA to investigate [UPDATED]

British defence tech supplier Ultra Electronics has been acquired by UK company Cobham Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of US private equity firm Advent International, in a £2.6 billion deal. Under the deal, which values the company at around an 8x multiple of its £325.1 million 2020 revenue, Ultra shareholders will each receive £35 per share.

Ultra Electronics is a key Royal Navy supplier and, as such, the sale to a foreign entity has prompted calls for government scrutiny of the transaction over concerns including national security. The government said that the sale was “a commercial matter for the companies involved” but added that it was “closely monitoring the transaction”.

Similar concerns surrounded Advent’s $5 billion (£3.6 billion) 2019 takeover of the formerly British-owned Cobham. That transaction was ultimately approved by the government after Advent made a number of commitments to ease concerns. However, since then, Advent has sold off some parts of the firm.

Ultra supplies electronics, including warship and submarine sonar systems and underwater sonobuoys, to the Royal Navy. The company also works directly and through contractors with other providers in sectors including aerospace and critical infrastructure.

Commenting on the sale, Simon Pryce, Chief Executive of Ultra Electronics, said: “Today’s offer from Cobham reflects the significant progress and value that has been created by the whole Ultra team from our ONE Ultra strategy and from the progress we are making on our Focus; Fix; Grow transformation. The team should be very proud of what they have achieved so far.

“This combination will enhance Ultra’s prospects through Cobham’s stated intentions to accelerate our transformation, invest in our technology, and to continue to support our customers, operations, communities and most importantly our talented and committed people.

“The combination will also create a defence electronics business of greater scale, bringing together two businesses with complementary technology, design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, which we believe will enable the delivery of a broader range of integrated, cost competitive and high-performance solutions across a wider range of platforms, benefitting our mutual customers and wider stakeholders.”

Cobham Group Chairman Shonnel Malani added: “We believe Cobham and Ultra’s complementary capabilities delivering mission critical technology will be significantly enhanced through the combination of the two groups, enabling the development of higher performance solutions for our customers.”

UPDATE - August 19th

It was announced yesterday afternoon, August 18th, that Cobham's takeover of Ultra Electronics will be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), after Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng instructed the regulator to examine the deal on national security grounds.

Writing on Twitter, Kwarteng said: This afternoon, I instructed [the CMA] to investigate the proposed acquisition of Ultra Electronics by Cobham to assess any national security concerns. The UK is open for business, however foreign investment must not threaten our national security."

"I’ve also tabled an Order in Parliament preventing Ultra from disclosing sensitive information to Cobham about the goods or services it provides to HM Government or HM Armed Forces," Kwarteng added.



Find businesses for sale here.

If you are looking for an exit, we can help!


Share this article



Latest Businesses for Sale

Provider of Innovative Educational Software
UK Wide

The company has created an innovative and intuitive online learning platform, featuring a diverse range of subjects, such as academic physical education, which is mainly purchased by UK-based secondary schools and overseas British-curriculum schools....

Asking Price: Offers Invited
Turnover: £640,000

RELOCATABLE


A SaaS Provider Offering a Market-leading Mentoring Platform
UK Wide

The company is a SaaS developer offering a proprietary platform that is designed to enable the creation and scaling of internal mentoring, coaching and sponsorship programmes for employees, membership organisations and universities.

Asking Price: Offers Invited
Turnover: £700,000

RELOCATABLE


IT Telecoms Platform
North of England, UK

Based in the North of England but serving a national corporate client base and with the benefit of international software this has since inception built a loyal base of over 400 channel partners to sell its telecoms software solutions.

Asking Price: Offers Invited
Turnover: £9,930,000

LEASEHOLD



View more businesses for sale

News Search

Latest News

 
27
 
Jan
 

Administrators to sell assets as office furniture maker collapses | ADMINISTRATION

Bluespot Furniture, a West Yorkshire-based furniture manufac...

 
26
 
Jan
 

UK M&A down 16 per cent in 2022, but sentiment remains optimistic | BUSINESS NEWS

New analysis from PwC has revealed that UK M&A activity decl...

 
26
 
Jan
 

Private equity-backed law firm targeting further M&A in 2023 | BUSINESS NEWS

Stowe Family Law, a Leeds-headquartered specialist family la...

Free guide: 10 Biggest Buyer Mistakes

Sign up to receive our acquisition alert emails to get your FREE guide

Email


Related News

 
19
 
Nov
 

UK government set to approve Cobham takeover | BUSINESS SALE

The British government is poised to approve the $5 billion t...

 
02
 
Jun
 

£22 million MBO at card manufacturing firm | MBO/MBI

A £22 million management buyout (MBO) has been success...

 
19
 
Jul
 

Cobham to buy FB Heliservices | BUSINESS SALE

British defence giant Cobham has moved in on helicopter trai...

Want access to the latest businesses for sale?

Business Sale Report is your complete solution to finding great acquisition opportunities.

Join today to receive:

  • Comprehensive range of businesses for sale
  • Make direct contact with business sellers or their intermediaries
  • Access to all UK administrations, liquidations and winding-up petitions
  • Daily email alerts for the latest businesses for sale & distressed notifications
  • Business Sale Report publication posted to you every month
  • Advertise your acquisition requirements on our "business wanted" section

All this and much more, including the latest M&A news and exclusive resources

Become a Member

News Categories

  • - Business Sale
  • - Division Sale
  • - Administration
  • - MBO/MBI
  • - Merger
  • - Commercial Property

View all news

logo
Our Services Distressed Businesses
  • Businesses for Sale
  • Distressed Companies
  • List a Business
  • Help with Finance
  • Buyer Acquisition Service
  • Small Businesses for Sale
Company Buy a Business
  • About BSR
  • Insights
  • News
  • FAQs
  • Reviews
Get In Touch
020 8875 0200
[email protected]
167 Oakhill Road, London, SW15 2QW
Working hours: Mon-Fri, 9am - 5:30pm
About BSR
Business Sale Report is the UK's leading
independent business for sale & distressed business listing service.
Established in 1995, BSR offers an up-to-the-minute, comprehensive overview of businesses for sale, latest distressed business listings and daily acquisition news.
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive news about the latest businesses for sale.

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • twitter
© 1995-2023. Business Sale Report Ltd. All rights reserved. www.business-sale.com.