Atkins Acquire Defence Consultancy

WS Atkins plc (Atkins) has acquired Advantage Business Group Limited (Advantage), an independent defence consultancy. Advantage has been acquired for a consideration of £19.4 million, of which £15.25 million has been paid in cash and £4.15 million through the issue of loan notes, £1.7 million of which are redeemable after 18 months and £2.45 million after three years. Advantage has particular expertise in through-life capability management, complementing Atkins' existing skills in defence systems engineering. Atkins will integrate Advantage into its Design & Engineering Solutions business.

The combined business will be well placed to provide independent systems engineering and project management support to Government and industry for defence projects. The Ministry of Defence's recent Defence Industry Strategy identified increasing need for these skills to support the successful delivery of key defence projects.

Advantage employs approximately 180 staff, primarily from offices in Farnham and Bristol. The acquisition brings the total number of staff working on similar defence projects to approximately 700.

Ivor Catto, Managing Director of Atkins' Design & Engineering Solutions business said: "We are pleased to be able to combine the Advantage and Atkins capabilities to broaden our systems engineering skills and strengthen our through-life capability management in order to serve our customers better."

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Posted 22/03/07

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