US bidder Advent wins bitter fight for £4bn defence giant Cobham

Shareholders in historic defence giant Cobham on Monday overwhelmingly backed its fall into foreign hands as they waved through a controversial £4 billion takeover by a US private equity giant.

Advent’s bid had been opposed in a vocal campaign by former Cobham leaders and some members of the family of its late founder Sir Alan Cobham.

They claimed the deal could jeopardise national security and feared it would threaten major UK job losses and the fall of another jewel in Britain’s industrial crown.

However, Advent is thought to have had positive meetings with the Government, and on Monday shareholders with around 93% of the company approved it.

The Cobham family only own 1.5% of the business. Turnout was 77%.

Cobham is famed for its air-to-air refuelling kit but also makes other equipment for the military, such as bomb disposal gear and radar systems.

After the vote, Cobham chief executive David Lockwood said US ownership would help it win more contracts in future.

Big political hitters like Lord Heseltine and Sir Vince Cable weighed in last month saying they were opposed to the deal, following a campaign against it from Lady Cobham, the daughter-in-law of the founder.

She had argued the bid undervalues the company, which is just emerging from a dramatic turnaround project.

She wrote to top shareholders asking them to vote down the deal.

Cobham’s top shareholder, the UK fund manager Silchester International, went public to say it did not think the price was high enough and called on Cobham to find another suitor with a higher offer.

However, none has appeared.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom could still intervene on national security grounds and the company has to gain many other regulatory approvals before the deal is done.