BAE achete probablement Armor Holdings Inc. pour 3.5 milliards dollars

[Invité Rob]

Armor Holdings Inc. a ca. 8000 "employees" et en le Royaume-Uni il fait les Pinzgauers, et il a achete Hiatt & Company. "Turnover" est ca. 2.4 milliards dollars (ca. 1.2 milliards livres). BAE a ca. 880000 "employees" et un "turnover" en 2006 de ca. 14 milliards livres (28 milliards dollars).

BAE in talks to buy Armor Holdings for $3.5 billion

By MarketWatch

Last Update: 12:01 AM ET May 7, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- In a transatlantic combination of defense c

contractors, Britain's BAE Systems Plc. is in final negotiations for the $3.5 billion purchase of Armor Holdings Inc., a U.S. maker of military and heavy vehicles, Humvee armaments and soldier body armor, according to a media report Monday.

The deal with BAE (UK:BAE: news, chart, profile) would award Armor Holdings (AH Armor Holdings, Inc News , chart , profile , more AH82.15, +4.46, +5.7% ) shareholders about $88 a share, or a roughly 7% premium to the company's Friday close at $82.15 a share, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition. See Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).

For BAE, the purchase would bolster two strategies: expanding in the U.S. and deepening its involvement in military ground vehicles, The Journal said.

Armor Holdings would be BAE's first major acquisition since selling its 20% stake in European airplane maker Airbus to focus on the U.S. defense market, according to the report. BAE has a market capitalization of nearly $29 billion.

The Jacksonville, Fla., company reported net income last year of $134.6 million on revenue of $2.36 billion, The Journal said. It has steadily built its business via acquisition according to the report, most recently in the $1 billion-plus deal for truck maker Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc.

A deal would also be consistent with the 2005 purchase of United Defense Industries, maker of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and other heavy tracked vehicles, a deal that gave BAE a major role in the U.S. Army's multibillion-dollar program to modernize ground forces, according to the report.

Defense contractors have been forming alliances ahead of the Army's eventual replacement of Humvees, The Journal said. Armor Holdings has teamed with aviation titan Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT : Lockheed Martin Corporation (Holding Company) News , chart , profile , more LMT96.64, +0.24, +0.2%) , which is seeking to expand into ground vehicles, adding that it isn't clear how a BAE purchase of Armor Holdings would affect that agreement.

A BAE spokesman declined to comment and an Armor Holdings spokesman didn't have a comment, The Journal said.

Link: Market Watch

[Invité Rob]

Armor confirms to be bought by BAE Systems in 4.1 bln usd deal - UPDATE

(adds BAE detail, comment)

LONDON (Thomas Financial) - Military and heavy vehicle-maker Armor Holdings Inc confirmed reports that it has agreed to be acquired by BAE Systems for 4.1 bln usd, or a price of 88 usd per share.

The deal is subject to approval from Armor Holdings shareholders, as well as to customary closing conditions. Armor said the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

BAE said the Armor acquisition would position it as one of the world's leading land systems players, would be immediately earnings enhancing and would increase its US defence footprint by more than 3 bln usd.

'Armor Holdings is a strong business with an excellent track record and a highly regarded management team,' said Mike Turner, BAE Systems' chief executive in a statement.

'The combination of Armor Holdings with BAE Systems' existing land systems business will strengthen our capabilities to the benefit of the US and UK armed forces and their international allies.' r.jones@thomson.com rj/ro

Link: http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=42737072158500

[Clairon]

Pour la petite histoire :

Armor holdings detient Centigon, le specialiste du blindage de voiture et camionettes, lui même proprio de la firme française Labbé en Bretagne, qui produit par exemple pour l'instant des Defender blindées pour les différentes armées françaises.

CENTIGON

Clairon

[Invité Rob]

Ici, le BAE SYSTEMS press release, le cout total est ca. 4.5 milliards dollars.

BAE SYSTEMS press release

[Invité Rob]

Apres cet achat, l'industrie britannique de la defense a fait beaucoup de chooses.

(1) BAE Systems a vendu leur business "Surveillance and Attack" a l'entreprise britannique Cobham pour 240 million de dollars.

(2) BAE Systems a achete MTC Technologies pour 450 million de dollars.

(3) BAE Systems a achete une division de l'entreprise britannique Petards Group pour environ 3 million de livres.

(4) Cobham a achete S-Tec pour 38 million de dollars de l'entreprise britannique Meggitt .

(5) QinetiQ a achete deux entreprises australiens pour 20 million de dollars australien.

(6) Cobham a achete l'entreprise americaine Sparta pour 486 million de dollars.

Links.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/bae-sells-radar-subsystems-provider-to-cobham-04543/

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32013-1.html?topic=WT_Top100

http://production.investis.com/investors/news/regulatory/rnsitem?id=1199350313nRNSC9833K

http://www.cobham.com/vfile.ashx?id=1027&Section=1009&DocId=1254

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jan/03/qinetiq

http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=57266947206025

[Invité Rob]

BAE Systems achete l'entreprise australienne Tenix pour 775 million de dollars australienne.

Link.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSSYD17782220080118

[Invité Rob]

Les resultats du BAE Systems pour 2007 sont la.

• Turnover: 15.7 milliards de livres
• Profit: 1.477 milliards de livres
• Order book: 38.6 milliards de livres
• Employees: ca. 98000