Engineering group’s £1bn takeover talks end

The £1bn takeover of engineering group Doncasters by a Chinese billionaire has been halted.

The proposed sale to Beijing Xinwei, which is controlled by Wang Jing, has been in the public domain for six months but caused concerns in the US and UK about security. Doncasters’ defence business makes parts for weapons launch systems.

The group’s owner, Dubai International Capital (DIC), has now called off the deal, Sky News has reported. It attributed part of the reason to indications that the US would not approve the sale.

DIC have owned the group since 2006, when they paid around £700m to Royal Bank of Scotland Equity Finance, and are now expected to keep hold of the business.

Doncasters employs 5,000 people across the group, which is headquartered in Burton-upon-Trent and has its R&D facility in Droitwich.

It was founded in the late 18th century, making it one of the country’s oldest manufacturers, and now has a turnover of £680m.

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