Takeover of UK defence supplier Ultra Electronics set to be approved

Sonar and radio comms maker expected to be sold to Cobham, owned by private equity firm Advent, in 2.6bn deal

The UK government is set to wave through a 2.6bn takeover of a British defence manufacturer in a deal that will move a US private equity investor a step closer to controlling a significant supplier of nuclear submarine equipment.

Cobham has received the green light to take over Ultra Electronics, a FTSE 250 maker of systems such as sonar and radio communications used by navies and air forces, as well as civilian aircraft. Cobham was itself controversially taken over and broken up by US private equity investor Advent over the course of 2019 and 2020.