Cobham break-up on target with warfare simulation sale - report

(Sharecast News) - US buyout firm Advent International is close to offloading a key division of Cobham, it was reported on Friday, as it continues to break up the defence giant. According to Sky News, Advent - which acquired the British business in 2019 for £4bn - is in "detailed negotiations" to sell Ultra Electronic Warfare Simulation Technology (EWST).

Cobham acquired EWST in 2021, when it bought London-listed Ultra Electronics in a £2.6bn deal.

Citing one unnamed potential bidder, Sky said EWST was unlikely to command a significant price.

But it will contribute to Advent's wholesale break-up of the once sprawling Cobham group. Assets already sold off include the Paris-based Cobham Aerospace Communications, which was snapped up by France's Thales in 2023 for £850m.

The decision to break up the business has been criticised by politicians, who are concerned it undermines the UK's defence industry during a period of heightened geopolitical unrest, and the founding Cobham family.

However, Advent has previously stated that Cobham was a large, disparate conglomerate and was struggling.