Britische Rüstungsindustrie

[Rob]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/story/0,10674,1224848,00.html">http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/sto ... 48,00.html</a><!-- m -->

Es scheint ein Ausverkauf stattzufinden, GKN will seine 50% von AgustaWestland an Finmeccanica verkaufen, Alvis wird wahrscheinlich an General Dynamics verkauft und Bae Systems wird vielleicht eine Fusion mit einem amerikanischen Konzern eingehen. Die "Standhaften" sind Rolls-Royce und Vosper Thornycroft.


Hier ein genereller Überblick über die Britische Rüstungsindustrie:

Bae Systems hat zirka 100000 Mitarbeiter (40000 davon in GB) und einen Umsatz von 19 Milliarden Euro.
Rolls-Royce hat 35000 (21000 in GB) Mitarbeiter und einen Umsatz von 9 Milliarden Euro.
Vosper Thornycroft hat 10000 (alle in GB?) Mitarbeiter und einen Umsatz von 900 Millionen Euro.
Alvis hat einige Tausend Mitarbeiter (zirka 50% in GB?) und einen Umsatz von 400 Millionen Euro.
Thales UK - ehemals Racal - hat zirka 12000 Mitarbeiter und einen Umsatz von ungefähr 1.8 Milliarden Euro.



Hier einige der Übernahmen:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1225542,00.html">http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/stor ... 42,00.html</a><!-- m -->

The government was back in the firing line yesterday over the transfer of British defence assets abroad when GKN confirmed it had reached a £1bn agreement to sell Westland - Britain's only helicopter business - to Italy.
Concerns about the future of Yeovil-based Westland were raised when new buyer, Finmeccanica, said it was already looking to cut costs.
Lord Bach, the defence procurement minister, on Tuesday dismissed ideas of a disposal of Westland as "rumours", but an outline deal was confirmed less than 24 hours later.
GKN said the sale to its Italian joint venture partner was "the right price at the right time" and the City agreed, marking the British engineering company's shares up almost 5% to 229.75p.
But Bruce George, chairman of the Commons defence select committee, said governmental obsession with the free market was selling Britain short.
"I very, very much regret this sale," he said. "We have opened up our markets to all and sundry, leaving UK defence manufacturing such as Westland and Alvis to move abroad. Try exporting to the US or France and see the way Alstom [of France] is being subsidised as a national champion."

[Rob]

Der Link:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1085944500087&p=1012571727092">http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServe ... 2571727092</a><!-- m -->

BAE in surprise £355m agreed bid for Alvis


By Peter Spiegel, Defence Correspondent
Published: June 3 2004 19:36 | Last Updated: June 3 2004 19:36



BAE Systems on Thursday night snatched British tank maker Alvis from the clutches of American rival General Dynamics with an 11th hour cash offer valued at £355m.

General Dynamics said it would not raise its £309m bid, in effect conceding the maker of Challenger tanks and Warrior fighting vehicles to BAE.

The surprise BAE move - equities markets have been discounting the chance of a counter-offer for weeks - was presented to Alvis just on Thursday morning and accepted by its board in a matter of hours. Nicholas Prest, Alvis chairman, said his board dropped General Dynamics for BAE bid primarily because of the higher price, which comes to 320p per share.

General Dynamics did not formally withdraw its bid, which closes on Monday, but its decision not to raise the stakes was in many ways a concession to the inevitable. BAE already owns 28.7 per cent of Alvis, which it bought last year for 230p per share last year as part of an effort to get into military land systems.

In addition, BAE's new offer, orchestrated over the last month by its investment banking advisor Goldman Sachs and five hedge funds, included irrevocable contracts for an additional 16.2 per cent of Alvis's shares. BAE's control over 44.9 per cent of the company was too much for General Dynamics to overcome, one person close to US group acknowledged.

BAE's move came just days before a Monday deadline set by General Dynamics for shareholders to buy into its bid. On Wednesday, GD announced it had commitments from 21.6 per cent of shareholders, well short of the 50.1 per cent it needed to take control.

People close to the GD deal had expressed confidence in recent days, however, noting most of the outstanding shares were held by arbitragers who would eventually have to sell to GD, or else watch the entire deal fall through.

Indeed, the GD deal was so far along that British regulators announced yesterday they had cleared the deal, which made securing a majority of shareholders GD's final hurdle.

If approved by regulators, BAE's purchase would give it a commanding position in all aspects of British defence on air, land and sea, making it the military's dominant supplier of warships, fighter jets and armoured vehicles.

[Rob]

Es sieht momentan ja etwas rosiger aus als der Artikel es unten sagt, Bae kauft Alvis, Bae kauft vielleicht den GKN Teil von Westland und Bae wird seine Schiffwerften nicht verkaufen, damit ist wohl auch eine BaeSystems - US-Firma eher unwahrscheinlich und BaeSystems wird wieder Britischer.
Hier ein paar Fakten:

Second biggest arms exporter
Combined turnover of £17bn a year
Employs 345,000 in the UK
Comprises 3% of UK manufacturing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3741979.stm

Defence and aerospace groups such as BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce are major players in the field, generating billions of pounds in sales and employing hundreds of thousands of staff.
But could much of Britain's defence industrial base be on the verge of falling into foreign hands?
The European Commission is expected to rule on Wednesday on the £309m ($553m) takeover of the UK's only tank builder, Alvis, by US defence firm General Dynamics.
The ruling comes the week after UK engineering group GKN revealed it was in talks to offload its stake in helicopter maker Agusta Westland to its Italian partner Finmeccanica, signalling an end to British ownership in the industry.

[Rob]

Westland:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.4227886.1088931878.QOfIJsOa9dUAACTvW4I&modele=jdc_34">http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bi ... ele=jdc_34</a><!-- m -->

Bisher sind 28 Aufträge für den Super Lynx 300 eingegangen.

[Rob]

Defence Spending Drives UK Aerospace Recovery


(Source: Society of British Aerospace Companies; issued July 8, 2004)


The UK’s Aerospace Industry saw a recovery in sales last year driven largely by increased defence spending, according to figures released today by the Society of British Aerospace Companies.

The UK Aerospace Facts and Figures 2003 Report, sponsored by Accenture, also shows that Research & Development rose by 18 per cent on the previous year. R&D expenditure now reflects 12.3% of the industry’s turnover, the third consecutive annual increase. By comparison, R&D only accounted for 8.2 per cent of sales in 2001.

Total turnover for the sector grew by 3.4 per cent in real terms, to £17.08bn. The recovery was driven by increased domestic and global defence spending. Military export and domestic orders enjoyed a substantial rise to £8.3bn, an improvement of 12 per cent in real terms - with UK government procurement showing a substantial rise up to £3.33bn, an increase of more than 22 per cent.

3.4% Wachstum, damit hat es mehr Wachstum als die Britische Wirtschaft 2003 (2.3%.). Wisst ihr etwas über andere Aerospace Induastrien anderer Länder, wie die wachsen? Und mit über 121000 ist die Britische Aerospace Industrie immer noch die größte (West-) Europas.


Und hier zu Vosper Thornycroft:

VT Group Wins £100m. Contract to Manage New Zealand Naval Dockyard


(Source: VT Group; issued July 8, 2004)


VT Group, the support services and shipbuilding company, has signed a contract with the New Zealand Defence Force to manage the Royal New Zealand Navy’s main dockyard at Devonport, near Auckland. VT will carry out the role in conjunction with its New Zealand joint venture partner Fitzroy Engineering, of New Plymouth. VT and Fitzroy have formed a joint venture company known as VT Fitzroy Limited.

VT Fitzroy will carry out the maintenance and repair of Royal New Zealand Navy ships and commercial vessels for a period of ten years, with an option for a further five. The initial contract is worth over £100m. VT and Fitzroy have taken over the facility from Babcock New Zealand, who have managed the facility since 1994.

VT Group Chief Executive Paul Lester commented: “With our proven experience in running Portsmouth naval base in the UK, the contract in New Zealand highlights the potential for exporting this expertise overseas.”

www.defense-aerospace.com

[Popeye]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://de.news.yahoo.com/040801/286/4547o.html">http://de.news.yahoo.com/040801/286/4547o.html</a><!-- m -->

London lässt Militäruniformen in China herstellen

London (AFP) - Die nächste Generation von Kampfanzügen für die britische Armee soll aus Kostengründen in China hergestellt werden. Ein entsprechender Auftrag mit fünfjähriger Laufzeit und einem Volumen von 50 Millionen Pfund (75 Millionen Euro) sei an eine nordirische Textilfirma vergeben worden, die die Uniform-Herstellung einem Lizenznehmer in China überlasse, teilte das britische Verteidigungsministerium mit.

Die Zeitung "Sunday Telegraph" berichtete, mit dem Vertrag spare das Ministerium 23 Millionen Pfund (41 Millionen Euro) ein. Eine Abgeordnete der regierenden Labour-Partei von Premierminister Tony Blair, Lindsay Hoyle, äußerte gegenüber der Zeitung kritisch, es erscheine ihr "absurd" und "heuchlerisch", dass Großbritannien gemäß einem EU-Embargo keine Waffen an China liefere, aber seine Armee-Uniformen von dort beziehen wolle.

Ein anonymer Offizier sagte dem Blatt, die Auftragsvergabe sei "lächerlich". Bereits in den 80er Jahren habe Großbritannien Armee-Uniformen in asiatischen Ländern herstellen lassen, die jedoch wegen schlechter Qualität nach ein bis zwei Jahren hätten weggeworfen werden müssen.

[Turin]

3.4% Wachstum, damit hat es mehr Wachstum als die Britische Wirtschaft 2003 (2.3%.). Wisst ihr etwas über andere Aerospace Induastrien anderer Länder, wie die wachsen? Und mit über 121000 ist die Britische Aerospace Industrie immer noch die größte (West-) Europas

Die deutsche Luft-und Raumfahrtindustrie beschäftigt ca. 70.000 Menschen. Seit Anfang der Neunziger ist die Zahl stark gefallen (damals etwa 100k), inzwischen geht es sehr langsam wieder bergauf. Der Umsatz betrug 2003 15,70 Mrd Euro, 2001 gab es ein Umsatzhoch von 16 Mrd, dann 2002 einen ziemlichen Einbruch. Das jetzige Wachstum ist eher bescheiden, aber zumindest vorhanden. An der Graphik kann man sich das Wachstum ausrechnen, beim schnellen Überschlagen komm ich auf etwa 2,5 - 2,8 %, also auf jeden Fall etwas weniger als in GB.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bdli.de/bdli/images/statistik/s-umsatzbrd-gross-d.jpg">http://www.bdli.de/bdli/images/statisti ... ross-d.jpg</a><!-- m -->

Quelle: Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft-und Raumfahrtindustrie


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bdli.de/bdli/presse/statistik.cfm">http://www.bdli.de/bdli/presse/statistik.cfm</a><!-- m -->

Unter dem zweiten Link gibts noch einige Infos und Vergleiche weltweit.

[Popeye]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ftd.de/ub/in/1092171040346.html?nv=hpm">http://www.ftd.de/ub/in/1092171040346.html?nv=hpm</a><!-- m -->

London gibt Rüstung zum Abschuss frei

Anders als deutsche Rüstungsfirmen genießen britische Verteidigungskonzerne keinen Regierungsschutz. Während es in Berliner Regierungskreisen heißt, ein Verkauf des Panzerbauers Rheinmetall ins Ausland würde blockiert, hat London wenig Angst vor Know-how-Verlust - solange die heimische Militärtechnik im Kreis der Bündnispartner bleibt.

Großbritannien gilt als offenster Rüstungsmarkt unter den Industrieländern. Die britischen Streitkräfte kaufen ein, wo es am günstigsten ist - etwa französische Flugzeugträgertechnik oder US-Kampfbomber. Umgekehrt haben Ausländer freies Feld bei Zukäufen und Entwicklungsprojekten in der 345.000 Mitarbeiter zählenden britischen Rüstungsbranche. Die Hersteller bilden mit 17 Mrd. £ Ausfuhrumsatz die weltweit zweitgrößte Waffenexportindustrie...............

[Rob]

Die deutsche Luft-und Raumfahrtindustrie beschäftigt ca. 70.000 Menschen. Seit Anfang der Neunziger ist die Zahl stark gefallen (damals etwa 100k), inzwischen geht es sehr langsam wieder bergauf. Der Umsatz betrug 2003 15,70 Mrd Euro, 2001 gab es ein Umsatzhoch von 16 Mrd, dann 2002 einen ziemlichen Einbruch. Das jetzige Wachstum ist eher bescheiden, aber zumindest vorhanden. An der Graphik kann man sich das Wachstum ausrechnen, beim schnellen Überschlagen komm ich auf etwa 2,5 - 2,8 %, also auf jeden Fall etwas weniger als in GB.

Danke für die Information.

link:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.4850487.1094132500.QTcjFMOa9dUAABNkQic&modele=jdc_34">http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bi ... ele=jdc_34</a><!-- m -->

BAE Systems Creates a Land Systems Business


(Source: BAE Systems; issued Sept. 2, 2004)


BAE Systems today announced the creation of a new Land Systems business through the bringing together of Alvis and RO Defence. This new business will be under the leadership of Ian King, Group Managing Director, Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S) and Land Systems.

"By bringing together Alvis and RO Defence, our aim is to create a leading land systems business, consistent with BAE Systems' land sector strategy," said King.

"The combined capabilities of this new business enhances our ability to provide customers with efficient solutions and places us in a strong position for bidding on future programmes. We see key opportunities for increased systems content and a strong drive towards integrated through-life support of the large number of in-service vehicles and platforms.

"Alvis and RO Defence both have long and proud heritages in providing a military capability to the UK armed forces. Land Systems will build on the achievements of both former businesses," concluded King.

Further announcements on Land Systems' organisational structure and key appointments will be made shortly.

-- Alvis' principal operations are in the UK and Sweden; it employs 2,600 people. The UK sites are in Newcastle, Leeds, Wolverhampton and Telford. Overseas locations are Sweden and South Africa. Alvis' turnover in 2003 was £349 million.

-- BAE Systems RO Defence employs 2,500 people. Its main UK sites are in Birtley, Barrow, Chorley, Radway Green, Leicester, Glascoed, Bridgwater, and Leicester, with a head office at Filton. Overseas it has a facility at Hattiesburg in the USA for the M777 howitzer assembly and a 50:50 JV with GIAT called CTAI located in Bourges, France. RO Defence's turnover in 2003 was £270 million.

BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The company has more than 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately £12 billion through its wholly-owned and joint venture operations.

-ends

So beschäftigt der von Deutschen und Franzosen gesteuerte EADS-Konzern inzwischen 30.000 Leute auf den britischen Inseln, und das französische Unternehmen Thales erzielt dort zwölf Prozent des Jahresumsatzes von 10,6 Mrd. Euro. Thales wurde kürzlich mit 2,9 Mrd. £ am neuen Flugzeugträger-Programm der Royal Navy beteiligt und sicherte sich schon 2000 den strategisch wichtigen britischen Gefechtselektronik-Spezialisten Racal.

Was? 30% von allen EADS Mitarbeitern sind in GB?

"Es kommt darauf an, dass die Jobs und das technische Wissen in Großbritannien bleiben", fasste die Regierung kürzlich ihre liberale Linie zusammen, die stark zur aktiven Industriepolitik Deutschlands und Frankreichs kontrastiert. Auch als das Unternehmen Alvis, der Lieferant des britischen Standardgefechtspanzers Challenger, im Frühjahr an den US-Rüstungskonzern General Dynamics (GD) zu fallen drohte, hielt die Politik still. Im letzten Moment sicherte sich der britische Rüstungschampion BAE Systems für den hohen Preis von 355 Mio. £ den Zuschlag.

Das ist wirklich eine Gefahr, ausländische Beteiligungen über 25% sollten einer Regierungsgehenmigung bedürfen.

[Rob]

Rüstungsexporte machen nach dem FTD Artikel 10% der Britischen Exporte aus. chock:

[Rob]

Bae Systems Interimresults:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.baesystems.com/newsroom/2004/sep/090904news1.htm">http://www.baesystems.com/newsroom/2004 ... 4news1.htm</a><!-- m -->

[Rob]

Bae Systems will scheinbar ihre Schiffswerften doch nicht verkafen zumindest sind sie in Verhandlungen mit dem MoD über eine langfristige Schiffsbaupolitik.

BAE in talks to save naval dockyards


BAE Systems is in talks with the Government over a new national strategy on shipbuilding that may convince the defence giant to drop plans to sell its naval dockyards.


Speaking at the half-year results yesterday, chief executive Mike Turner said: "We're working with the Ministry of Defence to see if a UK naval shipbuilding strategy can be created to avoid the peaks and troughs of the past."

Chairman Dick Olver added that the group would keep the business "if there is a higher value outcome, which will create more value for shareholders".

He said: "The good news is the Government is saying we can't go on like this."

The MoD has arranged to meet stakeholders next month to take discussions further. Currently, BAE does not expect to deliver "significant profits" in shipbuilding until 2008.

The group wants the MoD to think long term and to ensure industry has a greater share of the lucrative repair and maintenance market. BAE's naval business, which has two yards in Glasgow and a submarine yard at Barrow-in-Furness, announced 760 "potential redundancies" in April.

BAE continues to work on the Type 45 destroyer and remains in negotiations with the MoD over its aircraft carrier programme. Thales and VT Group have expressed interest in buying the yards.

Mr Turner also used yesterday's results to stress that relations with the Government have improved, following delays and cost overruns on the Nimrod maritime aircraft and Astute submarine programmes.

He said: "MoD work continues to be our priority and the actions taken over the last two years have improved things. We have significantly derisked the company . . . the Government has been very supportive in a number of areas."

He said progress was being made over the second tranche of the 236 Eurofighter jets the Government has ordered but declined to say whether an agreement would be completed this year.

Talks stalled over the technological capability of the new batch. "I have no doubt we will reach an agreement but it depends on the Government and whether the deal is good for our shareholders," Mr Turner said.

The group reported an increase in underlying pre-tax profits from £465m to £486m, before a goodwill impairment charge of £688m of which £420m related to the former Marconi avionics business bought in 1999. After the charge, BAE posted a pre-tax loss of £296m against profits of £56m last time.

It also revealed that changes in mortality rates meant the pension deficit rose from £2.1 billion to £2.6 billion, increasing the group's half yearly pension charge from £54m to £82m.

The order book dipped slightly to £45.2 billion because of a £1. billion translation hit as a result of the weak dollar.

The shares rose 1.5 to 213.25p.

[Rob]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17057-2004Sep12.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Sep12.html</a><!-- m -->

BAE Systems Unit to Buy DigitalNet

By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 13, 2004; Page E01

BAE Systems North America announced a deal Saturday to acquire Herndon-based DigitalNet Holdings Inc. for $595 million in cash, pushing it further into the growing government information technology market.

The deal, which must be approved by shareholders, continues a consolidation of the market and would create an $1.2 billion information technology division ranked among the federal government's top 10 information technology providers. The acquisition would also result in a significant payoff for the DigitalNet investors who founded the company in 2001 and took it public last year.

"With all the talk about war spending and smart ammunitions and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, where an awful lot of the money is being spent is IT," said Jon Kutler, chairman and chief executive of investment bank Quarterdeck Investment Partners LLC.

Rockville-based BAE Systems North America already provides information technology services to the federal government, but DigitalNet, which integrates and provides security for computer networks, would broaden those capabilities, said Mark Ronald, BAE North America's president and chief executive. Contracts with the Defense Department made up more than 35 percent of DigitalNet's 2003 revenue, while intelligence agencies made up another 20 percent.

Both firms said the deal was prompted by the government increasingly bundling small contracts into single large deals. Information technology "is one of the fastest growing areas of government spending and scale makes a big difference," said Mark Ronald, BAE North America's president. "This puts us at a scale to compete for almost any contract." BAE North America had about $5 billion in revenue last year and could reach nearly $6 billion this year if the deal closes as expected.

DigitalNet found itself competing for work against industry giants like Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp., said Ken Bajaj, DigitalNet's chief executive and chairman. Since the company, expected to reach about $374 million in revenue this year, is too big to pursue contracts set aside for small businesses, DigitalNet either had to be acquired or begin buying smaller competitors to bulk up, he said.

"Size really matters in the government space, you have to be a $1 billion company to go after the big contracts, and we were in the middle," Bajaj said.

"For BAE, it shows a commitment to reaching critical mass, to becoming a tier one player," said Robert D. Kipps, head of the defense group at investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. For DigitalNet, he said, "perhaps it was a realization it would take a long time to get to critical mass."

BAE, which is owned by London-based BAE Systems, agreed to pay the equivalent of $30.25 a share for DigitalNet, a premium from where its stock closed Friday: $23.56 a share. As part of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, BAE also agreed to assume $93.25 million in DigitalNet's debt.

The deal would result in a large payout for some of DigitalNet's largest shareholders, including equity firm GTCR Rauner LLC, which committed $100 million to start the company in 2001, and owns 49.3 percent of its outstanding shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Bajaj owns 10 percent and the chief financial officer, Jack Pearlstein, holds 2.5 percent, the report said.

"It's a home-run transaction," Kipps said. "It's a nice premium to where the stock has been and a nice financial return to investors."

No layoffs are expected among DigitalNet's 2,200 employees, officials at both firms said. About 1,700 of the company's employees are in the Washington region. "Nobody is getting laid off, we're still in hiring mode," Bajaj said, adding that he would leave after the company was acquired. "The only person being laid off is me. . . . I don't know what I will be doing."

DigitalNet followed a path familiar to Bajaj. In 1997, Bajaj created AppNet Systems Inc., an e-commerce consulting firm, which went public two years later and was acquired in 2000. "He's a serial entrepreneur who likes transactions," Quarterdeck's Kutler said.

BAE Systems Aerostructures Wins £85 Million Raytheon Contract Award


(Source: BAE Systems; issued Sept. 10, 2004)


BAE Systems Aerostructures has been awarded an £85m life of program design & build contract for Raytheon Hawker 800XP aircraft.

This represents a continuation of its current supply contract of doors, fuel tanks, flaps and elevators, but includes the addition of Rudder and Tailplane assemblies, which will be built at the Aerostructures Prestwick site.

The £85M contract will deliver a 50% increase in sales and positions the Aerostructures business amongst the top suppliers to Raytheon Aircraft Company by value.

www.defense-aerospace.com

[Skywalker]

UK LOSES MILITARY DEALS IN EGYPT, ISRAEL


UK LOSES MILITARY DEALS IN EGYPT, ISRAEL LONDON [MENL] -- Britain's defense industry was said to be losing business with such Middle East clients as Egypt and Israel.

British defense executives said the nation's arms export law has hampered efforts to sell military equipment to a range of Middle East and Asian states. They said that other suppliers are replacing British defense firms in Egypt and Israel.

Tim Otter, vice president for business development at Smiths Detection, said China, Egypt, India and Pakistan represent problematic markets for British defense contractors. He reported serious difficulties in obtaining arms export licenses for these countries as well as Israel.

The result, executives said, was that other European countries have entered the Middle East market. They cited France and Germany.

Quelle: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2004/september/09_13_3.html">http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2004/ ... _13_3.html</a><!-- m -->

[Rob]

Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc. to Be Acquired by QinetiQ


(Source: Westar Aerospace & Defense Group; issued Sept. 13, 2004)


ST. LOUIS --- Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of technology solutions to the Department of Defense, other government agencies, and aerospace customers, announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by QinetiQ (pronounced ki’ ne tik), one of the world’s largest science and technology companies. The transaction, valued at approximately $130 million, will provide Westar and QinetiQ customers with greater access to a broad range of technologies, positioning both firms for growth.

“This agreement represents a huge opportunity for our customers, our employees, and our company,” said Rob Topping, president of Westar. “By partnering with QinetiQ, our engineers, software developers, and analysts can offer additional technology solutions and meet the evolving needs of the Department of Defense and our other customers.”

Under terms of the agreement, Westar will become a wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ North America, QinetiQ’s U.S. operating company, and will remain an autonomous member of the QinetiQ Group, retaining Westar’s core management team, employees, and U.S. facilities. Westar’s management will continue to report to a separate, independent board of directors.

“Westar’s record of 38 percent annual growth during the last five years has been tremendous and we want that team to continue its success,” said Dr. David Anderson, president and chief executive officer of QinetiQ North America. “Westar and QinetiQ are a truly remarkable fit. Both companies are unequaled when it comes to commitment, customer service, and technological leadership.”

Anderson said the acquisition also opens the possibility of additional growth and employment in Westar, from the increased opportunities resulting from access to QinetiQ’s technology and through QinetiQ’s access to fresh markets in Europe. The transaction is subject to the customary regulatory approvals. Pending such approvals, the transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.

Greg Jones, partner of the Edgewater Funds, which is a significant minority shareholder in Westar, said, “This is a great new chapter in the company’s history and will provide it with additional resources to move forward. We’re pleased to have helped Westar get to this point.”

-ends-

www.defense-aerospace.com