U.K. Government Approves Private Equity Group Advent’s Cobham Buy

December 23, 2019 | Alternative Investments
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The private equity firm made various concessions to get the controversial deal done.

Advent International can purchase the defense company Cobham Plc for $5 billion. The U.S. private equity firm received permission from the British government after it made several concessions to address concerns about national security.

British Business Minister Andrew Leadsom discussed the deal in a statement released Friday.

“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,” she said.

Under terms of the deal, Advent will allow several British executives to serve on the company’s board. Leadsom had previously delayed the deal due to concerns about national security.

Prime Minister Faces Scrutiny over Advent International

Earlier this year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns about the potential deal. In October, the CMA said raised concerns about two issues. First, that “unauthorized persons” could obtain information about the Ministry of Defense’s capabilities and activities. Second, it worried about threats that private equity ownership could bring. For example, it cited the cutting of funding or the shifting certain areas of the business off-shore.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed criticism of the deal while visiting his country’s soldiers in Estonia. “I think it’s very important that we should have an open and dynamic market economy,” he said last week. “A lot of checks have been gone through to make sure that in that particular case all the security issues that might be raised can be satisfied and the UK will continue to be a very, very creative and dynamic contributor to that section of industry and all others.”

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