Cobham sale backlash

A FORMER senior executive at Cobham has urged ministers to block a £4bn takeover of the defence firm by private equity bidder Advent.

John Myers, who was the director of flying operations at Cobham subsidiary FR Aviation between 1988 and 2002, said he fears the 85-year-old company will be split up if it falls into the US group’s clutches.

His intervention comes amid growing opposition to Advent’s 165p-per-share takeover offer, which was revealed last month. The Liberal Democrats and the Cobham family have both urged the Government to review the takeover.

Myers said: ‘There are two reasons why I oppose the deal. The first one is emotional in terms of it’s a British company that has a long history. But the main reason is it’s a global, high-tech defence company and the thought of that being hived off to a private American company that will basically tear it apart is awful.

‘I want to see the Government step in and say this is too important for Great Britain and needs to be stopped.’

Myers, 74, was the deputy leader of the Red Arrows before he joined Dorset-based Cobham – which pioneered in-flight refuelling technology – in 1984. He is still a shareholder in the firm and is a close friend of Lady Nadine Cobham, the widow of Sir Michael Cobham who built up his father’s business into the firm it is today.

The Cobham family has written to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urging him to stop the takeover. Advent and Cobham declined to comment.