Advent International has proposed an acquisition of Cobham plc, but why is the UK Government getting involved – and what are the implications?

On the grounds of national security, the UK Government made a surprising intervention in the U.S private equity firm Advent International’s proposed acquisition of Cobham plc, a British aerospace and defence company. Since the decision back in September to look into the acquisition, the UK Competition Market Authority has submitted a review to establish if the deal meets certain jurisdictional criteria and if competition issues would be likely from the deal. The Government will then decide if the proposal can go ahead, or not.

In this recent alert our lawyers examine the legal basis for this intervention, the climate in which the intervention emerged and take closer look at what implications the decision could have for the frequency of similar interventions if it is made into legislation.