Business Secretary intervenes in Cobham’s £2.6bn bid for Ultra Electronics on national security grounds Business Secretary intervenes in Cobham's £2.6bn bid for Ultra Electronics Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has stopped the planned £2.6bn acquisition of defence firm Ultra Electronics by rival US-owned Cobham, to investigate possible national security risks from the merged entities. The Competition and Markets Authority will now prepare a report on the proposed transaction. Customers of Ultra, which sells torpedo and radar systems and a range [...]
Cobham and Ultra Electronics reach £2.6bn deal with UK jobs guarantee to assuage ministers Cobham and Ultra Electronics ink £2.6bn deal with job plan to sway minister The boards of Cobham and Ultra Electronics have agreed terms of a £2.6bn takeover deal, that caused national security concerns for Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last month. Cobham said the board at defence and engineering firm Ultra had backed backed the 3,500p per share that values it at £2.57bn. Shares in Ultra jumped out of [...]
Cobham locks on to rival Ultra with £2.6bn takeover offer Cobham locks on to rival Ultra with £2.6bn takeover offer The board of defence firm Ultra have this morning signalled their approval of a £2.6bn takeover bid from rival FTSE 250 company Cobham. In a statement, the firm said that it had received a £35.00 per share non-binding offer from Dorset-headquartered Cobham, which it said was “at a value the Board would be minded to [...]
Lady Cobham slams break-up of UK aerospace champion July 6, 2021 Lady Nadine Cobham has slammed the takeover and break-up of the UK aerospace champion founded by her father-in-law by an American private equity firm. “These private equity companies just do it for feathering their own nest and their friends making huge sums of money” she said of the acquisition and subsequent sell off of units [...]
Cobham puts top secret defence rival Ultra Electronics in its sights June 26, 2021 British aerospace giant Cobham has set its sights on the engineering company behind some of the UK’s most critical military equipment, paving the way for a potential hostile takeover bid. The defence group, which itself was taken over by US private equity firm Advent International in a £4bn deal last year, said it was considering [...]
Cobham’s £4bn takeover set to go through as Andrea Leadsom signals approval November 19, 2019 Cobham’s £4bn buyout at the hands of US private equity giant Advent took a step closer to going ahead this morning, as business secretary Andrea Leadsom said she is “minded to accept” the buyer’s provisions to address national security concerns. Advent has offered to make sure existing security arrangements around defence giant Cobham would “continue [...]
Cobham £4bn takeover decision delayed as Leadsom looks for more time November 5, 2019 The £4bn buyout of Cobham by American private equity giant Advent could have run into problems, after the government said it would spend more time looking into whether the deal raised national security risks. In a written statement, business secretary Andrea Leadsom said defence secretary Ben Wallace had got in touch regarding the national security [...]
Cobham shareholder comes out against £4bn takeover deal by US private equity firm September 10, 2019 The furore surrounding aerospace stalwart Cobham’s controversial £4bn takeover by a US private equity group shifted up a gear today, as one of its top shareholders rebuffed the plan. Sanderson Asset Management, an investment firm operating out of London and Chicago, which is Cobham’s 11th largest shareholder, has written to the FTSE 250 company’s founding [...]
Second shareholder adviser backs Cobham £4bn private equity takeover September 5, 2019 Another influential shareholder adviser Glass Lewis has recommended Cobham shareholders back the company’s £4bn takeover by Advent International, after Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said the same two days ago. Glass Lewis is the second-most prominent advisory service in the world behind ISS, and has told shareholders to choose the “‘bird in the hand’, in this [...]
Cobham founding family says takeover ‘against national interest’ August 4, 2019 The founding family of British defence firm Cobham has asked the government to intervene in the £4bn takeover of the company by US private equity giant Advent International. Lady Nadine Cobham has reportedly written to defence secretary Ben Wallace and business secretary Andrea Leadsom urging them to block the deal, saying the takeover could threaten [...]