£7bn Meggitt takeover twist

US FIRM OUT OF RACE FOR DEFENCE GIANT

ONE of two US bidders for British defence contractor Meggitt has pulled out.

TransDigm said it would not make a firm offer, after floating a potential £7billion approach last month.

It removes another obstacle for fellow American suitor Parker Hannifin.

The engineering group has made an 800p-a-share bid that values Coventrybased Meggitt at £6.3billion.

Meggitt’s board recommended the offer after Parker said it would be a “responsible steward” for the business, which employs 9000 staff globally, a quarter of them in the UK.

TransDigm had until September14 to make a firm offer. Both foreign swoops for Meggitt, which makes parts

ONLINe gambling giant 888 holdings yesterday confirmed it was in advanced talks to buy rival William hill’s businesses outside the US.

The betting firm said it was in discussions with US casino operator Caesars entertainment, which bought William hill earlier this year.

888’s operations are purely online and the deal raises questions over the future of William hill’s betting shops. for the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets, have attracted criticism. Tory grandee Lord Heseltine said he was unconvinced any company could provide “cast-iron guarantees for the future”. TransDigm chairman Nick Howley said: “Based on the quite limited due diligence information that was made available and the resulting uncertainties, TransDigm could not conclude that an offer of 900 pence per Meggitt share would meet our long-standing goals for value creation and investor returns.” Meggitt’s shares dived 12 per cent to 737p yesterday. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is reported to have ordered an investigation into whether the takeover would harm national security.