(Bloomberg) — Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc said it has accepted a 2.57 billion-pound ($3.6 billion) buyout approach from Cobham Ltd. to unite the British manufacturers of defense and aerospace systems.
The firms said in a statement Monday that they’d reached agreement on an all-cash deal valuing Ultra at 35 pounds as share. That’s after Ultra said July 23 it was inclined to accept a takeover at that price by Cobham, which is owned by U.S. private-equity firm Advent International Corp.
The takeover is the latest move to acquire U.K. aerospace and defense assets as private equity takes advantage of free-flowing capital to step up acquisitions. Ultra’s business activities include providing sonar for submarines, nuclear controls and maintaining a store of sensitive components for the nuclear deterrent.
The U.K. government, which conducted a national security review before signing off on the Cobham-Advent deal, will also have to back an Ultra sale.
The Cobham sale to Advent was controversial, with the founder’s family accusing the government of letting a vital national asset be sold off in a takeover that other countries would have blocked.
Cobham is paying a 42% premium for Ultra based on its price prior to the July offer. The deadline for a final offer had been extended to Aug. 20.
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