level by 25% on Tuesday after it reported that the British based aerospace and defense supplier, Cobham has entered into an agreement to acquire it for nearly $1.46 billion.
Cobham Agrees To Acquire
Cobham has offered to acquire Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX) in an all-cash deal of $10.50 per share, which represents a premium of nearly 26% to Aeroflex’s closing price on Monday. The shares surged on Tuesday in response to the offer and to match the price. In addition to this, Cobham will also assume Aeroflex’s debt of around $540 million. The deal has been approved by the board of Aeroflex and is expected to conclude by the end of the year. Commenting on the agreement, Aeroflex’s CEO, Len Borrow said that the two companies are a natural fit.
At present, Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX) employs nearly 2,600 employees across its 20 locations. The company has so far not made clear about the impact of the agreement on its workers, including those who work in its Long Island branch. The deal is still to get through the shareholder approval as well as regulatory clearances. If the deal makes its way then it will join the long list of other Long Island based publicly traded companies, which were either shifted their headquarters to a different place, shut down or been acquired since 2007.
Witnessing Pressure
Cobham’s CEO Bob Murphy said that Aeroflex, which is better known for its motion control, microelectronics and radio transmission devices, has been facing challenges of late due to reduced government spending in the U.S. and a recession in Europe. He added that though Aeroflex had recorded a growth till 2011, it started seeing pressure on its revenues during the last three years. Murphy said that they expect cost trim down to come to around $85 million per annum post merger.
During the beginning of this month, Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX) had reported a 1% fall in its third quarter sales that came to $155.5 million.
