
Cobham break-up nears end with Ultra warfare simulation arm sale
Sky News has learnt that Advent International, the buyout firm which bought Cobham for £4bn in 2020 and then swooped on London-listed Ultra Electronics in a £2.6bn deal the following year, is in detailed negotiations to offload Ultra Electronic Warfare Simulation Technology (EWST).
The division provides "training and performance validation capabilities" to its customers, and - according to the company - "specialises in market-leading, multi-spectral threat and countermeasure simulators that are designed to strengthen naval, air force, army and the defence industry's electronic warfare testing, evaluation and training".
One bidder who explored a bid at an earlier stage of the sale process said on Friday that the EWST business was unlikely to command a significant price.
A change of control may nevertheless require approval under the government's National Security and Investment Act, given the nature of the division's operations.
The EWST division is part of Ultra Intelligence & Communications, which is itself a subsidiary of the broader group.
Alvarez & Marsal, the professional services firm, has been drafted in to manage the auction, the source added.
Advent has overseen a wholesale break-up of the enlarged Cobham group - a controversial process which drew opposition from members of the company's founding family as well as politicians and commentators.
Among the assets already sold was Paris-based Cobham Aerospace Communications to the French group Thales, which fetched £850m in 2023.
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