Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» International Group (Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»), the international aerospace, defence and security company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with KBR for the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Frazer-Nash Consultancy Limited (Frazer-Nash Consultancy) for a cash consideration of £293 million (implying an enterprise value of £285m on a cash free/debt free basis), subject to routine closing adjustments and before transaction costs.
Headquartered in the UK, Frazer-Nash Consultancy delivers innovative engineering and technology solutions across a broad range of critical national infrastructure, helping to provide assurance to operators and regulators from a network of nine UK and four Australian locations. The consultancy, which has grown strongly since Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» acquired it in 2007, employs around 900 people.
The sale forms part of Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»â€™s targeted disposal programme, which aims to generate at least £400 million of proceeds in the next twelve months. Frazer-Nash Consultancy is an outstanding business which provides independent advice to its customers and on that basis has operated largely independently from Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³». Proceeds from this transaction will be used to reduce net debt.
Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» CEO David Lockwood said:
“We are making real progress on our plan to streamline and focus the group on our key markets. Divesting at least £400 million of businesses in our targeted disposals programme will enable us to reduce complexity and increase our focus as we return Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» to strength. Frazer-Nash Consultancy is a good fit for KBR, and I wish them every success in growing the business further.â€
The consultancy is part of Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»â€™s Marine sector. For the year ended 31 March 2021 it reported total revenues of £100.5 million (year ended 31 March 2020: £101.9 million), profit before interest and tax of £13.5 million (year ended 31 March 2020 £17.1 million). As of 31 March 2021 gross assets were £79.9 million.
Completion of the agreement is subject to approval by the Australian foreign investment authority.
The agreement constitutes a class 2 transaction for the purposes of the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rules, and as such does not require Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» shareholders’ approval.