Demands grow to block ‘disastrous’ £4bn Cobham deal

As investors prepare to approve takeover...

PRESSURE is being piled on the Government to intervene in Advent International’s £4bn swoop on Cobham.

Shareholders in the hightech British defence firm are widely expected to wave through the private equity buyout at a meeting in London today.

However, opponents have slammed the Government for ignoring national security concerns over the ‘disastrous’ deal and ‘trading away Britain’s future prosperity’.

Even if the takeover vote goes through, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom would still be able to open an investigation – or even block – the deal, because of Cobham’s extensive military contracts.

Critics argue the takeover is being waved through at a time when the Government is distracted by Brexit. And it comes as The Mail on Sunday yesterday revealed that US private equity giant Advent has cut 800 roles and drained hundreds of millions of pounds during the past year from other British companies it has bought.

Gordon Page, Cobham’s former chief executive and chairman, said allowing the deal to go through without closer scrutiny would be ‘ not far short of disastrous’. He added: ‘I sincerely hope the Government’s role starts now. Cobham is a very important company in all sorts of respects in the UK. The type of people who have opposed the deal [such as Michael Heseltine and Vince Cable] show senior figures know what it does and that opposition has not just been a kneejerk reaction.’

Lady Cobham, the daughterin-law of Cobham’s founder Sir Alan Cobham, said she was ‘appalled’ by the way the Government has been ‘dragging its feet’ since Advent’s 165pper-share offer was revealed in July. She told the Mail: ‘It would be a national disgrace if this deal is allowed to sail through without any Government intervention. The Government is trading away Britain’s future prosperity and security by failing to protect our defence manufacturing capability.’

Advent needs 75pc support to get the go-ahead from investors today. So far less than 2pc have publicly committed to voting against the deal.

A Cobham spokesman said: ‘ The UK has developed a sophisticated system of buying from complex, international supply chains; it has embraced a free and open defence market, where value for money has been a significant consideration for Ministry of Defence procurement decisions, rather than the national identity of the supplier.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘If any national security concerns are raised they will be taken into consideration.’