Ultra Electronics confirms extension to Sparton merger regulatory review

The FTSE 250 company initially announced its intentions on 7 July last year, subject to the approval of the United States Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act.

It said that in the merger agreement there was a long-stop date by which time the merger should be completed, unless regulatory approval has not been granted.

“Under the terms of the merger agreement, Ultra and Sparton have agreed an extension of the initial long stop date from 31 January 2018 to 31 March 2018, to reflect the progress of the approval process,” the board of Ultra said in its statement on Wednesday.

“The merger agreement also provides Ultra with the option to further extend it until 31 July 2018 if certain regulatory approvals, including US antitrust clearance, remain pending at 31 March 2018.”

As it previously disclosed on 10 November, Ultra entered into a timing agreement with the US DoJ.

Ultra and Sparton agreed not to consummate the pending acquisition until 90 days following the date on which both had certified compliance with the DoJ's requests for additional information, unless the DoJ's review shall have been closed sooner, subject to certain exceptions.

“Ultra and Sparton expect they will each have certified compliance with the DoJ's requests for additional information on or before 8 February.

“Therefore the timing of a decision from the DoJ may be later than the end of March 2018 previously announced by Ultra.”

Ultra said both itself and Sparton had been cooperating fully with the DoJ as it conducted its review, and were continuing to work with the department to obtain its clearance of the pending acquisition.