Shares dive as Meggitt suitor quits bid battle

ONE of two suitors circling UK defence contractor Meggitt has pulled out of the multi-billion-pound bid battle - sending its shares down 12pc.

US predator Transdigm scrapped plans to make a formal offer of £7bn, or 900p per share, for the firm.

The move clears the way for American engineering group Parker-Hannifin to buy Meggitt for £6.3bn, or 800p a share. Meggitt shares fell 12.1pc, or 101.4p, to 737.8p.

The Meggitt board including chairman Sir Nigel Rudd had already backed the bid from Ohio-based Parker-Hannifin when Transdigm announced its interest.

Transdigm, also based in Ohio, had until next Tuesday to make a firm offer or walk away, but yesterday abandoned ship. Its chairman Nicholas Howley said: ‘We have long admired and studied the Meggitt business and believed that a combination between the two companies could provide value to investors of both companies.

‘However, 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.’

Parker-Hannifin is now in pole position to buy Meggitt, which supplies parts for military aircraft and passenger jets such as the Typhoon and Boeing’s 737 Max.

But both bids have sparked outrage from military figures, experts and MPs, who claim it should not be sold to a foreign buyer.