LONDON, Aug. 18 - Britain said it would investigate the possible security threats related to the proposed acquisition of the defence firm Ultra Electronics by rival Cobham, which is owned by U.S. private equity firm Advent.
Customers of Ultra, which sells torpedo and radar systems and a range of military communication equipment, include the British and U.S. governments
Cobham outlined commitments to address concerns about potential national security implications of its acquisition of Ultra when it announced an agreement for the acquisition on Monday.
The UK is open to business, however our national security should not threaten foreign investment, said Kwasi Kwarteng on Wednesday.
He said he had asked the British Competition and Markets Authority to prepare a report on the proposed transaction.
The government said the deadline to prepare the report was Jan. 18th, 2022.
He said he would seek to stop Ultra from disclosing sensitive information to Cobham about the goods or services it provides to Britain's government and its armed forces.
The government of UK revealed in July that it was closely monitoring Ultra's bid by Cobham.
Another American aerospace and defence group Meggitt received bids from British firms Parker-Hannifin and TransDigm.