Page 112 - Five Forces of Americanisation Richard Hooke 04072025 final post SDR1

The UK Defence Industry in the 21 Century
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The Five Forces of Americanisation

In other words, the ability to consider, for example
• the options and actions available before a US private equity buyer announces its agreement
to acquire over $10bn of the UK DIB’s undervalued assets and sells them overseas at a vast
profit
• how the UK government should react to an announcement of a specific approach from a major
foreign corporation to acquire part or all of a UK company, such as:
o an approach by Lockheed Martin to merge its combat aircraft business with BAE
Systems, in order to extend the F-35 programme and expand its export market
o Babcock International, according to JPMorgan Cazenove, “one of the cheapest
European defence stocks” that it covers, receiving a bid from an acquirer; a US
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corporate, US fund manager (for which there is a precedent ) or a partly state-owned
European company
• why being a UK defence company Chief Executive should now be viewed as a part-time job
• alternative investment projects that would appeal to UK defence companies currently
spending £3bn on buying back their own shares.

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