The UK government has intervened on grounds of national security in Better Capital PCC Ltd's deal to sell aircraft parts maker Northern Aerospace Ltd to Chinese-owned Gardner Aerospace Holdings Ltd.
The private equity firm, founded by Jon Moulton, agreed to sell Northern Aerospace to Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources Co Ltd's unit Gardner Aerospace in a £44mln deal earlier this month.
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In a statement on Monday, the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: "On Sunday 17 June 2018, the Secretary of State issued a public interest intervention notice, confirming that he is intervening in the sale on national security grounds.”
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement today that it has until July 13 to submit a report on the competition and national security aspects of the proposed deal.
To assist with its assessment, the CMA has invited comments on the impact of the transaction from any interested party.