BAE in deal to buy UK rival for £531m
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence firm, unveiled an agreed £531m deal to buy British rival Detica yesterday, to boost its presence in the US security market.
BAE chief operating officer Ian King, who takes over from Mike Turner as chief executive later this summer, said the purchase “will provide a platform for us to apply Detica’s capabilities in the US homeland security market.”
BAE said it will pay 440p per share to acquire Guildford-based Detica, which develops intelligence and analytical software for commercial and government bodies.
The offer represents a premium of 57 per cent to Detica’s closing price of 281p a share on 17 July, the day before the company said it had received a preliminary approach from an unnamed party.
Detica’s director’s, who have recommended the bid to their shareholders, own 6.2 per cent of the security firm.
Landsbanki analyst Kevin Ashton said: “The firm will fit with BAE’s American electronics, intelligence & support unit. BAE wants to increase its market share, and Detica regularly wins business in the US.”
Detica, which launched in 1971 and listed on the stock market in 2002, also has offices in London and Cheltenham. It employs 1,500 people, with additional staff in Amsterdam, Geneva and America.
Detica generates around two-thirds of its sales from national security, with the rest coming from telecoms and financial services.