UK: Chinese bid for Northern Aerospace fails amid security fears

Chinese takeover attempts to buy a British defence company have fallen through, according to UK private equity firm Better Capital, via The Guardian.

Approval has not been given for aircraft parts maker Northern Aerospace to be purchased by Derby-based Gardner Aerospace, a subsidiary of Chinese aerospace and mining firm Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources.
A deadline to complete the deal lapsed after an intervention by the Ministry of Defence, which flagged up national security concerns.

This prompted the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to look into the proposed sale, including asking the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to write a report into potential competition issues.

Better Capital founder Jon Moulton said the resulting delay had ruined the deal, adding that he was mystified by any suggestion there were national security concerns.

“It’s fair to describe me as miffed,” he said. “We believed we’d addressed the issues satisfactorily, but there remain unspecified national security issues and we don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Full Content: The Guardian

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