"Defence firm Meggitt's new US owner in jobs pledge"

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Defence and aerospace firm Meggitt has agreed to a £6.3bn takeover by US firm Parker-Hannifin, which has promised to protect Meggitt jobs in the UK



Coventry-based Meggitt employs more than 9,000 people at 39 sites worldwide, including 2,300 in the UK.

It specialises in components for the aerospace, defence and energy industries. Companies that it supplies include Airbus and BAE Systems.

Parker said it was "committed to being a responsible steward" of Meggitt.

It added that it was pleased that the deal had the full support of Meggitt's board.

Parker said it would maintain Meggitt's product engineering and manufacturing staff levels in the UK, while increasing the number of apprenticeships by 10%.

The offer for Meggitt, which is listed on the FTSE 250 index, values the company at 800p a share. That represents a 70% premium on Meggitt's closing share price on Friday, which was 469.1p.

The takeover announcement sent its share price soaring nearly 60% in Monday trading to 742.3p.
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"During our long-standing presence in the UK we have built great respect for Meggitt, its heritage, and its place in British industry," said Tom Williams, chairman and chief executive of Parker-Hannifin.

Parker, which already employs 2,000 people at its own UK sites, has said it is committed to keeping Meggitt's headquarters in Coventry.

[dutchman]

We've heard that one before!

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Government could intervene in Meggitt takeover

The UK government has said it is "closely monitoring" the planned £6.3bn takeover of defence and aerospace firm Meggitt by a US company.

The statement by the Department for Business comes after Parker-Hannifin announced its 800p-a-share offer for Coventry-based Meggitt.

Meggitt employs 9,000 people worldwide, including 2,300 in the UK.

The government said it had powers to intervene in mergers and takeovers that raised national security concerns.

However, officials stressed that no decisions to intervene had been taken at this stage.

A government spokesperson said: "Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Business Secretary has powers to intervene in mergers and takeovers which raise national security concerns.

"While commercial transactions remain primarily a matter for the parties involved, the government is closely monitoring the proposed acquisition of Meggitt by Parker-Hannifin."

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Brussels backs £6.3bn foreign takeover of defence behemoth Meggitt



A £6.3bn foreign takeover of one of Britain's biggest defence companies has moved a step closer after it won backing from Brussels.

The sale of Coventry-based Meggitt has been cleared by the European Commission, which said that the company's US buyer Parker-Hannifin had satisfied its competition requirements.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the British Business Secretary, is yet to give his blessing to the deal in the wake of national security concerns. Meggitt makes brakes used on more than 70,000 civil and military aircraft, and supplies parts for the RAF Typhoon jet fighter.

Parker will sell its Ohio-based aircraft wheel and brake division as part of the deal.

In a statement, the commission said: "The remedy package offered by Parker will preserve competition in these markets and ensure that aerospace and defence customers have access to sufficient choice of component suppliers and will continue benefiting from competitive prices."

Mr Kwarteng ordered an investigation into the takeover by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which handed its report to him last month.

Although there is no deadline for the Business Secretary to decide whether he is satisfied, requires further remedies or would like a full investigation, Parker still aims to complete the deal by late summer this year.

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So much for the "jobs pledge"!

Huge jobs blow as 200 positions to be axed at Coventry factory



Around 200 workers at Coventry's Meggitt factory are set to lose their jobs by Christmas, CoventryLive understands. The devastating news has been broken to all affected employees at the firm, which used to be based in Holbrooks and is now at a new site in Ansty Park.

The company has been taken over by American firm Parker Aerospace. It is understood the jobs set to go are in central corporate and support departments.

CoventryLive was contacted by a reader, who did not want to be named, who claimed it was a sign of things to come. "This is just the start of redundancies for UK-based employees," they said.

A Parker Meggitt spokesman said, in a statement, that a consultation would soon be launched for all affected employees. "Following a review of the business, Parker Meggitt is proposing organizational changes to Meggitt’s corporate central functions in Ansty Park (UK)," the statement read.

"After the combination of the two businesses in September, some of the work previously undertaken by Meggitt’s corporate central functions, predominantly in the UK and USA, may no longer be required. Colleagues in the UK have been advised of these proposed changes which may lead to workforce reductions of approximately 200 roles, subject to consultation with representatives of the potentially affected employees.

"The consultation process with employee representatives will begin soon and last a minimum of 45 days." The statement continued: "As part of its commitment to the UK government, Parker Hannifin made a series of undertakings and remains committed to growing the aerospace business and manufacturing and R&D investment in the UK, including at Ansty Park, where it will maintain its Parker Meggitt centre of excellence and headquarters.

"Parker Meggitt is also committed to increasing job opportunities for highly skilled workers and those in early careers, including apprentices. Parker Meggitt is committed to a clear and transparent process with options to reduce the impact of the proposed changes, including the consideration of voluntary redundancy."