British government clears sensitive Ultra Electronics sale to US-based Advent

LONDON — The takeover of British defense company Ultra Electronics by U.S. private equity firm Advent International was approved by the U.K. government on July 6.

The £2.6 billion (U.S. $3.1 billion) acquisition by Boston-based Advent comes after months of discussions in government over whether the producer of sensitive nuclear submarine systems and other defense and security equipment should be sold to a foreign entity.

The government similarly scrutinized the purchase of Cobham , a U.K. defense and aerospace company acquired by Advent in 2020, weighing risks to national security.

Media reports said U.S. officials threatened to limit intelligence cooperation if the sale was blocked by the British.

Ultra, which has a turnover of around £850 million ($1 billion) has significant business activities in the United States and “Five Eye” customers Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The approval comes after Advent agreed to a raft of conditions required by the British before allowing the deal to go ahead.

Top of the list of conditions in a government statement issued July 6 was the creation of two new separate legal entities encompassing Ultra facilities in the U.K. that deliver sensitive equipment to the British government.

The appointment of non-executive directors in the new entities to protect national interest and provide oversight of any company moves to sell or reduce sensitive defense capabilities is another key condition.

British defense analyst Howard Wheeldon called the approval the right decision, but lamented how long it took.

“The government is absolutely right to waive this deal through and it will benefit the nation in respect of future investment in a high technology development business without the need of the executive needing to look over its shoulder at shareholders,” he said.

“Ultra Electronics is an important business to the U.K. but it is also a global business and one that is important in the United States. The U.S. threat to retaliate if the U.K. closed its doors to takeovers by international companies would I am sure have had serious consequences for U.K. companies investment in the United States,” said Wheeldon.

The decision on Ultra by the UK government’s Business Department is the second within a matter of days involving the sale of prime British engineering capability to U.S. companies.

A third major acquisition of a British concern by a U.S. corporation still awaits the nod from Government.

In late June the government said it was “minded” to accept Parker Hannifin’s £6.3 billion ($7.6 billion) bid to buy British-based aerospace and defense equipment maker Meggitt after the U.S. company accepted legally binding national security and competition undertakings.

The bid approval is subject to public consultation scheduled to end July 13.

It’s not clear what impact, if any, the current chaos in government triggered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to step down may have on the timing of pending takeover considerations.

The deal has already been approved by the European Union.

Still on the list for a government decision is whether to give the green light to Viasat’s longstanding $7.3 billion bid for Inmarsat, the British satellite services company.

Both companies have significant defense and government services activities.

Viasat announced it had reached agreement to acquire Inmarsat as far back as Nov. 5, 2021, but the U.S. communication company still awaits a call from the government in London.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——7月6日，英国政府批准了美国私募股权公司Advent International收购英国国防公司Ultra Electronics的交易。

总部位于波士顿的 Advent 公司斥资 26 亿英镑（31 亿美元）收购了这家生产敏感核潜艇系统和其他国防安全设备的公司。此前，政府就此问题进行了数月的讨论，讨论内容是这家公司是否应该出售给外国实体。

英国政府同样对科巴姆（Cobham）的收购案进行了审查。科巴姆是一家英国国防和航空航天公司，于 2020 年被 Advent 收购。政府权衡了此次收购对国家安全的风险。

媒体报道称，美国官员威胁说，如果英国阻止这笔军售，美国将限制情报合作。

Ultra 的营业额约为 8.5 亿英镑（10 亿美元），在美国以及“五眼联盟”客户澳大利亚、新西兰和加拿大拥有重要的业务活动。

在 Advent 同意英国提出的一系列条件后，交易才获得批准。

7 月 6 日发布的政府声明中，首要条件是成立两个新的独立法律实体，涵盖英国境内向英国政府提供敏感设备的 Ultra 设施。

任命新实体中的非执行董事，以保护国家利益并监督公司出售或削减敏感国防能力的任何举措，是另一个关键条件。

英国国防分析家霍华德·惠尔顿称批准这项决定是正确的，但他对审批过程耗时过长表示遗憾。

他说：“政府豁免这项交易的做法绝对正确，这将有利于国家未来对高科技开发业务的投资，而无需让企业高管担心股东的反对。”

“Ultra Electronics对英国来说是一家重要的企业，但它也是一家全球性企业，在美国也占有重要地位。如果英国关闭大门，禁止国际公司收购，美国威胁要进行报复，我相信这会对英国公司在美国的投资造成严重后果，”惠尔顿说道。

英国政府商务部对 Ultra 公司的决定，是几天内涉及将英国顶尖工程技术能力出售给美国公司的第二项决定。

美国公司对英国企业的第三次重大收购仍待政府批准。

6 月下旬，英国政府表示“倾向于”接受派克汉尼汾公司以 63 亿英镑（76 亿美元）收购英国航空航天和国防设备制造商梅吉特公司的要约，此前这家美国公司已接受了具有法律约束力的国家安全和竞争承诺。

该投标的批准取决于公众咨询，公众咨询将于7月13日结束。

目前尚不清楚首相鲍里斯·约翰逊决定辞职引发的政府混乱局面，会对正在进行的收购事宜的时间安排产生何种影响（如果有的话）。

该协议已获得欧盟批准。

政府仍需决定是否批准 Viasat 长期以来提出的以 73 亿美元收购英国卫星服务公司 Inmarsat 的方案。

两家公司都拥有重要的国防和政府服务业务。

Viasat 早在 2021 年 11 月 5 日就宣布已达成收购 Inmarsat 的协议，但这家美国通信公司仍在等待伦敦政府的指示。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。