£6.3bn deal to sell Meggitt could be grounded as Government intervenes

The £6.3bn deal to sell Meggitt, the Ansty-based manufacturer of components for the power and aerospace industries, has been thrown into doubt after the Government announced it could intervene in the deal on national security grounds.

Late on Monday evening, the Government issued a public intervention notice over Parker-Hannifin’s proposed deal to buy Meggitt, which was announced in August. Then, the takeover came with some caveats tied in because of the sensitive work Meggitt undertakes for the UK Government. Parker outlined a series of commitments, including ensuring that the majority of board directors of Meggitt will be UK nationals, keeping Meggitts headquarters in Ansty and retaining current numbers of staff and R&D spend.

However, the Government’s intervention means that the Competition and Markets Authority will now look if the deal presents a risk to national security.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng took to Twitter on Monday evening to say: “Tonight, I instructed the @CMAgovUK to investigate the proposed acquisition of Meggitt by Parker Haniffin to assess any national security concerns. The UK is open for business, however we will take steps to protect our national security when necessary.”

A statement from Meggitt said: “[We] note that the CMA is required to report to the Secretary of State by midnight at the end of 18 March 2022 and looks forward to engaging constructively with the CMA on its review.

“Meggitt continues to expect that the acquisition will complete in the third quarter of 2022.”