QinetiQ hits target with buy from Meggitt to aid overseas push

Military kitmaker QinetiQ snapped up rival Meggitt's target-practice division for nearly £60 million today to aid its push overseas.

The defence supplier will buy Meggitt’s Target Systems, which makes small drones for military training and testing exercises, get a bigger foothold in foreign markets.

“It has a significant number of customer relationships and that gives us additional routes to market where we can bring capability to wider areas of test and evaluation,” said QinetiQ chief executive Steve Wadey.

The takeover chimes with the firm’s new international unit set up to head off an ongoing squeeze in its UK home market.

About 90% of Target Systems’ revenues come from outside the UK. Target Systems supplies to 40 countries, 15 of which have Target Systems staff on the ground to operate the drones.

Wadey said countries were keen to buy equipment because the “diversity of threat is increasing”.

Meggitt decided to put the firm up for sale earlier this year because it was seen as non-core. About £10.2 million of the £57.5 million sale proceeds will be used to fix Meggitt’s pension scheme deficit.