Cobham sold to US private equity firm...
Asturias56,
Not really. I spend about a third of my professional time on M & A work, so spend a lot of time with venture capital companies and their being sold or acquired companies, and I think the idea that all they do is strip/steal and burn is an inaccurate tired old lazy cliche.
Not really. I spend about a third of my professional time on M & A work, so spend a lot of time with venture capital companies and their being sold or acquired companies, and I think the idea that all they do is strip/steal and burn is an inaccurate tired old lazy cliche.
No but an awful lot of the public face of Private Equity is I'm afraid the companies that do go down that route
I hope Cobham are safer - time will tell
I hope Cobham are safer - time will tell
Absolutely. A lot of talk about continuing inward investment despite the current turmoil . Well , those with deep pockets would be mad not to pile in when there are deals to be had at bargain basement prices . Honda and Nissan may be retrenching , but Jaguar-LandRover are staying put . For the folks at Tata , it's payback time ; what the East India company did to them , they can do the same in reverse . What goes around always comes around .
Phantom Driver,
What a childish approach to take! If you seriously think that emotions of the kind you allude to play any part whatsoever in global M and A activity then I am afraid that you are sadly deluded. Indian investors in the UK are here for one reason only, a decent return on investment.
Icarus2001,
There has been talk of the bidder being primarily interested in a break up and sell off, if that is the case then the Govt intervention will most probably stop this deal going ahead.
What a childish approach to take! If you seriously think that emotions of the kind you allude to play any part whatsoever in global M and A activity then I am afraid that you are sadly deluded. Indian investors in the UK are here for one reason only, a decent return on investment.
Icarus2001,
There has been talk of the bidder being primarily interested in a break up and sell off, if that is the case then the Govt intervention will most probably stop this deal going ahead.
Just before Tory Party Conference = high sensitivity to outside pressure
They'll probably ask for Solomon Binding agreements - like Cadbury's.............
They'll probably ask for Solomon Binding agreements - like Cadbury's.............
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50874181
The government has approved a US private equity firm's takeover of UK defence and aerospace company Cobham.
Advent International made a £4bn offer to buy Cobham in July and shareholders approved the deal last month. But Cobham's founding family raised concerns about the security implications of the deal, prompting a government consultation. Business secretary Andrea Leadsom has now said she is satisfied any risks have been mitigated.
Cobham, which employs 10,000 people, is known for pioneering technology enabling the mid-air refuelling of planes. The firm, based in Wimborne, Dorset, also makes electronic warfare systems and communications for military vehicles. Defence experts said its role in air-to-air refuelling is essential for modern warfare and could raise national security issues if the company was sold.
But Mrs Leadsom said the decision had been "meticulously thought over" and came after she took advice from the defence secretary and the deputy national security adviser. She said: "Having considered the consultation responses and further advice from the defence secretary, I am satisfied that the undertakings mitigate the national security risks identified to an acceptable level and have therefore accepted them and cleared the merger to proceed." The business secretary said sensitive government information would continued to be protected under the new owner and existing contracts would be honoured. The company is also obliged to give the government prior notice of any plans to sell the whole, or elements of, Cobham's business.
Cobham has extensive contracts with the British military and is seen as a world leader in air-to-air refuelling technology. Its expertise played a significant role in the Falklands War, allowing the Royal Air Force to attack the remote Port Stanley airfield.
Lady Nadine Cobham, 76, the widow of Sir Michael Cobham, who built the company up over 25 years, had suggested the deal might jeopardise the UK's capacity for mid-air refuelling in the future if parts of the company were sold off by Advent. Speaking earlier this year to the Mail on Sunday, she said she would not accept Advent's assurances about its plans. "I don't think it would be worth the paper it's written on," she said.
The government has approved a US private equity firm's takeover of UK defence and aerospace company Cobham.
Advent International made a £4bn offer to buy Cobham in July and shareholders approved the deal last month. But Cobham's founding family raised concerns about the security implications of the deal, prompting a government consultation. Business secretary Andrea Leadsom has now said she is satisfied any risks have been mitigated.
Cobham, which employs 10,000 people, is known for pioneering technology enabling the mid-air refuelling of planes. The firm, based in Wimborne, Dorset, also makes electronic warfare systems and communications for military vehicles. Defence experts said its role in air-to-air refuelling is essential for modern warfare and could raise national security issues if the company was sold.
But Mrs Leadsom said the decision had been "meticulously thought over" and came after she took advice from the defence secretary and the deputy national security adviser. She said: "Having considered the consultation responses and further advice from the defence secretary, I am satisfied that the undertakings mitigate the national security risks identified to an acceptable level and have therefore accepted them and cleared the merger to proceed." The business secretary said sensitive government information would continued to be protected under the new owner and existing contracts would be honoured. The company is also obliged to give the government prior notice of any plans to sell the whole, or elements of, Cobham's business.
Cobham has extensive contracts with the British military and is seen as a world leader in air-to-air refuelling technology. Its expertise played a significant role in the Falklands War, allowing the Royal Air Force to attack the remote Port Stanley airfield.
Lady Nadine Cobham, 76, the widow of Sir Michael Cobham, who built the company up over 25 years, had suggested the deal might jeopardise the UK's capacity for mid-air refuelling in the future if parts of the company were sold off by Advent. Speaking earlier this year to the Mail on Sunday, she said she would not accept Advent's assurances about its plans. "I don't think it would be worth the paper it's written on," she said.
Strikes me that the security aspect of this has been totally overblown by the family as a defensive measure against the takeover. Frankly, you could buy AAR components from anywhere as long as they’re made to the appropriate international specification; they’re hardly top secret. Things like missile seekers would be a different story.
Perhaps the only downside of this sale is that it will be just a tiny bit harder to build Tempest without any dependence on US-owned companies and therefore without effective US control of exports. But was that ever realistic? Probably not.
Perhaps the only downside of this sale is that it will be just a tiny bit harder to build Tempest without any dependence on US-owned companies and therefore without effective US control of exports. But was that ever realistic? Probably not.
I heard someone say if the family were so damn keen on the company remaining in British hands they shouldn't have floated it and sold their shares......................
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The issue of selling off sovereign technology is not just limited to AAR, it’s also related to Cobham Special Mission - the chaps who provide operational readiness training using the Falcon 20.
Someone was saying that Cobham have more operations in the USA than in the UK - I can't see how their technologies (which are cutting edge) are CRITICAL to UK Security tho'. If they were selling off GCHQ or even RR I could see the point but not Cobham
Cobham’s major business is in the USA - 52% of it - with the UK making up a measly 8%. It’s a global company that does more than just EW training and a few HDUs with spares for AAR. I can’t see any issue here at all?
It’s just normal globalisation. The UK’s workers will still stay working here as long as their work is profitable - whether their investors are British, American or from Craplakistan. If their work is no longer profitable, then they will shift their effort to something else, make redundancies or look for natural wastage. That is how business works. If the family were keen to retain it and not jump on the ‘outrage bus’ then why did they sell it in the first place?
It’s just normal globalisation. The UK’s workers will still stay working here as long as their work is profitable - whether their investors are British, American or from Craplakistan. If their work is no longer profitable, then they will shift their effort to something else, make redundancies or look for natural wastage. That is how business works. If the family were keen to retain it and not jump on the ‘outrage bus’ then why did they sell it in the first place?
"Boris" has not sold Cobham because Cobham is not Boris's to sell! This is a perfectly normal M & A transaction, they happen all the time, and while it is true that the UK is THE most open market in this respect, (if this company was French or Italian then their Govt's would never have permitted the sale) there are a whole raft of UK acquisitions of similar US defence companies, in fact Cobham itself bought its US rival Sargent Fletcher some years ago. This is not some one sided sell off, it is normal commercial activity.
