Jun 29, 2022
Meggitt Gains as Britain Clears the Way for £6.3 Billion Takeover by Parker
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- Meggitt Plc rose after Britain said national security concerns tied to the aerospace supplier’s agreed £6.3 billion ($7.7 billion) sale to US-based Parker-Hannifin Corp. have been allayed.
The stock reached 790.80 pence in early trading Wednesday, the highest since Sept. 7 last year, after the government said late Tuesday that Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is minded to accept legally binding undertakings given by Parker, whose all-cash offer is worth 800 pence a share.
While further representations will be considered before a final decision is made, Parker, a Cleveland-based aerospace and motion-control specialist, said in a statement that it expects to complete the transaction in the third quarter.
Britain ordered a review of the takeover in October after Meggitt shareholders backed it a month earlier. Parker said then it would engage with the UK after promising to keep a majority of the Coventry, England-based company’s board British and to maintain technology and manufacturing in the country.
The Meggitt decision comes after Britain said last week it would accept a £2.57 billion takeover of defense-technology specialist Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc by US private-equity firm Advent International Corp. through its Cobham arm, acquired in 2020.
Meggitt traded 0.6% higher as of 8:28 a.m. in London.
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