Cobham shareholders back $5bn US takeover

Shareholders in British aerospace and defence company Cobham have backed a $5.0bn takeover by an American private equity firm.

Cobham agreed to by acquired by Advent International in July for 165.0p per share, which at the time represented a 50% premium to the shares' three-month average price.

The FTSE 250 company held an extraordinary general meeting on Monday to vote on the offer, and 93.0% of the votes cast were in favour of the deal.

According to Reuters, chairman James Pike said Cobham had held “intense talks” with Advent and felt the offer was “adequate recompense for the company’s prospects”.

Cobham developed pioneering in-flight refuelling and employs around 10,000 people. However, following a number of profit warnings it was forced to raise cash from shareholders and embark on a turnaround programme. Some investors believed Advent’s offer undervalued Cobham's post-turnaround prospects, but a hoped-for rival bidder failed to emerge.

As at 1200 BST, shares in Cobham were ahead 1% at 161.65p.