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30 Nov 23. Vista Outdoor rejects Colt CZ’s merger offer. U.S. sporting and outdoor products group Vista Outdoor’s (VSTO.N) board has rejected a cash-and-stock merger offer from Czech gunmaker Colt CZ Group (CZG.PR), the company said. Vista’s board said in a company filing on Wednesday evening that it maintained its recommendation to sell its sporting products division to another Czech company, Czechoslovak Group (CSG), in a $1.91bn deal announced in October.
Colt CZ made its offer to Vista last week, proposing to keep the U.S. company whole and valuing its shares at a 16% premium.
“The Board of Directors has determined that the (Colt CZ proposal) would not be more favourable to Vista stockholders from a financial point of view than the transactions contemplated by the CSG (agreement) and does not provide a basis for engagement with Colt CZ,” Vista Chief Executive Gary McArthur said in a letter posted on the company’s website.
“The Board of Directors is therefore rejecting the (proposal).”
Vista said Colt CZ’s offer did not take into account the value created by splitting the outdoor and sporting divisions, and the valuation of $30 a share in the proposal undervalued the company.
There was no immediate reaction from Colt CZ to Vista’s statement.
Vista shares have climbed 8.3% since Colt CZ’s offer but are down almost 15% since the deal with CSG was announced, closing Wednesday at $27.89.
Prague-listed Colt CZ shares had dropped 2.0% since its proposal to Vista before edging up 0.2% to 530 crowns ($23.95) at the open on Thursday.
Vista said CSG’s acquisition of the sporting products division should close in 2024 pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
“From the outset, we have believed that, compared to Colt’s offer, our agreement with Vista makes much more sense for Vista shareholders and for the future success of both (Vista) segments,” CSG said in a statement.
($1 = 22.1330 Czech crowns) (Source: Reuters)
30 Nov 23. JPMorgan buys a 10.6% stake in Spanish defence company Indra. JPMorgan bought a 10.6% stake in Spanish defence systems maker Indra (IDR.MC), the stock market regulator said on Thursday. Following the transaction, JPMorgan has become the second-largest shareholder after Spanish state holding company SEPI, which owns a 25.2% stake, according to data from LSEG. The JPMorgan stake in Indra is worth about 268m euros ($294.10m) at market prices. Last week Spanish aerospace company Escribano said it had increased its stake in the Spanish company to 8% from 3.4% as it intended to contribute to the development of its defence programmes. Indra’s strategic relevance has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Spain has promised to boost its defence spending as required by NATO in the coming years. ($1 = 0.9112 euros) (Source: Reuters)
28 Nov 23. Hadean and 4C Strategies sign MoU to augment collective training solutions. ‘Spatial computing company, Hadean, and training readiness and organisational resilience solutions providers, 4C Strategies, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore capability integration opportunities that will aim to transform training and exercising in the public, private and defence sectors.
Under the agreement, Hadean and 4C Strategies, two leading SMEs in their domains will be working together to seamlessly combine AI-powered spatial computing capabilities of the Hadean Platform with the trusted data-driven UI of 4C Strategies’ Exonaut to offer a powerful new solution for scalable and interoperable multi-domain collective training, as well as personalised learning and education.
Exonaut is utilised by NATO and multiple allied forces and partners for training and exercise management. Among its implementations of the software, used in the British Army, enables end-users to rapidly design and run simulations, cross-reference data collated from training sessions to validate observations and present holistic after-action reviews against compliant and non-compliant objectives. With Hadean’s spatial computing and integrations that harness cutting-edge Generative AI and Large Language Model (LLM), simulations can be enhanced on the fly to reflect the complexity of the real world and augment decision-making with quality insights. Combining the two is set to create exciting prospects for the future of immersive and impactful LVC training as modern militaries look to exploit new technologies and overhaul how warfighters learn, train and rehearse in preparation for operations around the world.
The collaboration demonstrates the intention of Hadean and 4C Strategies to support a global customer base across defence, national security, commercial industries and government organisations, as trusted agnostic suppliers with validated capabilities that help accelerate the development of next-generation collective training. The two companies will exploit their adaptability and niche talents as disruptive SMEs to meet the challenging requirements of today’s defence programmes rapidly and spearhead change.
Craig Beddis, Chief Executive Officer at Hadean, said: “In joining forces with 4C Strategies, we embark on a transformative journey to fuse cutting-edge spatial computing and GenAI/LLM integrations with data-driven training organisation systems. Together, we are zeroed in on redefining how soldiers across services learn and train together, paving the way for innovation that elevates preparedness, adaptability, and excellence on the modern battlefield.”
4C Strategies Managing Director, Jonas Jonsson, said: “Collaborating with Hadean demonstrates our commitment to be at the forefront of the evolution of training technologies. Combining data-driven training readiness with world leading GenAI/LLM capabilities we will redefine the transformation of training. Working together we demonstrate the power of SME collaboration through technological innovation and commercial agility ensuring we are able to help prepare soldiers for current and future conflicts.”
The addition of 4C Strategies to Hadean’s ecosystem of defence partners shows the increasing need in defence and enterprise simulations for a spatial computing solution able to integrate existing and novel AI integrations and bring forth a new way for leaders to understand their operating environments.
Hadean and 4C Strategies are exhibiting at I/ITSEC at booths 1954 and 2660 respectively. For more head to: www.defence.hadean.com and www.4cstrategies.com
About Hadean
Hadean is a UK-based spatial computing company modernising the military simulation ecosystem for training, strategy and readiness. Our technology provides the AI-powered spatial compute infrastructure that bridges allies, domains, systems, and technologies to deliver a common operating picture for multi-domain training, decision support, test and evaluation, and wargaming. Our customers and partners include BAE Systems, the UK Ministry of Defence, the British Army, Microsoft, and Cervus. For more information please visit: https://defence.hadean.com/
About 4C Strategies
4C Strategies is a leading global provider of training readiness and organizational resilience solutions for customers in the defence, public and corporate sectors. Our solutions include the Exonaut software platform as well as expert services and software-related services Exonaut complies with the strictest demands on security and data integrity and is accredited by NATO.
From offices in the Nordics, the UK, the US and Australia, we serve over 150 customers, including some of the world’s most high-profile public institutions, global enterprises and several NATO allied armed forces. 4C Strategies was founded in Sweden in 2000, and is headquartered in Stockholm. 4C Strategies’ share is traded on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market, under the ticker “4C”.
28 Nov 23. Rolls-Royce boss aims for surge in profitability.
- Summary
- Companies
- Aims for aerospace margin of 15-17%
- Expects medium term operating profit at 2.8bn stg
- Shares rise 4%
Rolls-Royce aims to become a much more profitable business with a goal to increase its civil aerospace margin to 15-17% from 2.5% last year, in boss Tufan Erginbilgic’s new masterplan for Britain’s most prestigious engineering company.
Setting out a strategy that has been almost a year in the making, the chief executive said he would deliver up to 2.8bn pounds ($3.53bn) of operating profit in the medium term compared with its forecast guidance for up to 1.4bn pounds this year.
Erginbilgic, a former BP executive who took over in January, is the latest CEO to try to tackle Rolls-Royce’s inefficiencies.
He is seeking a step change in margins by around 2027 in an engine business that powers nearly half of long-haul aircraft. The new target would bring Rolls closer to its rivals, such as General Electric (GE.N), its major competitor in the widebody sector.
Shares in Rolls-Royce, which have soared 161% in the year to date, gained 4% in early deals following the announcement of the new targets.
“We are setting compelling and achievable financial targets for the mid-term which will take Rolls-Royce significantly beyond any previous financial performance,” Erginbilgic said on Tuesday.
Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunnigham said that the targets imply that Rolls-Royce is willing to shed revenues in exchange for better profitability.
“If so, that is a deeper culture change from Rolls-Royce’s traditional market share optimisation approach of past decades,” he said.
The company, which also has defence and power systems units, announced a group-wide divestment programme, targeting up to 1.5 bn pounds in the next five years, as it focuses capital on core parts of its business.
Rolls-Royce, which sacrificed profitability to build scale in the widebody market, powers Airbus’s A330neo and A350 aircraft and its engines are one of two options on Boeing’s 787.
Its finances were hit by problems with its Trent 1000 engine and by the pandemic, which grounded long-haul aircraft and wiped out Rolls-Royce’s revenue tied to engine flying hours.
Recovery under Erginbilgic has been rapid, with a five-fold rise in first-half operating profit reported in August, helped by increasing prices for maintaining its engines and tightly managing its cost base.
Erginbilgic said Rolls was well positioned to re-enter the narrowbody market through partnering on the next new engine programme, with its next-generation UltraFan technology being a vital step. ($1 = 0.7921 pounds) (Source: Reuters)
27 Nov 23. L3Harris to sell its commercial aviation solutions business for $800m. L3Harris Technologies (LHX.N) is selling its commercial aviation solutions business to private equity firm TJC L.P. for $800m, the defense company said on Monday.
The deal includes a $700m cash purchase price and a $100m earnout based on the achievement of certain financial performance targets for this year and 2024.
The commercial aviation solutions business of L3Harris offers pilot training, flight data analytics, avionics and advanced air mobility products and services and has around 1,450 employees.
“Aligned with our capital allocation priorities, we plan to use the proceeds from this transaction to repay debt, which will accelerate our timeline to reach our debt leverage objective,” L3Harris said in a statement.
Morgan Stanley and Moelis & Co were financial advisers to L3Harris, while J.P. Morgan Securities LLC advised TJC L.P. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024. (Source: Reuters)
27 Nov 23. X-Bow Systems nets funding for hypersonic development.
The interim funding round fulfils X-Bow’s matching requirements for its $60m STRATFI programme with AFWERX and the US Air Force.
US-based hypersonics systems provider X-Bow Systems announced the close of an interim funding round led by Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture arm of defence prime Lockheed Martin, in a boost to its solid motor rocket technology.
In a mid-November release by X-Bow Systems, it was stated that investors included, Crosslink Capital, Razor’s Edge Ventures, Balerion Spacen Ventures, Bravo Victor Venture Capital, and Capital Factory.
The interim funding round fulfils X-Bow’s matching requirements for its $60m STRATFI Program with AFWERX and the US Air Force, selected earlier this year, the company stated. The STRATFI, or Strategic Funding Increase, programme is focused on large-scale, strategic capabilities.
“This interim investment in X-Bow is part of Lockheed Martin’s strategy to add anti-fragility in the solid rocket motor industrial base by enabling new technology and affordability in this sector, not only for our products but for the US industrial base as a whole,” said Chris Moran, vice president at Lockheed Martin Ventures.
“X-Bow will apply these funds to its solid rocket motor technology and to completing the phase I build out of its ‘gigafactory’ style solid rocket motor campus,” said Jason Hundley
X-Bow CEO Jason Hundley said that the company would apply the funds to its solid rocket motor technology and the completion of the phase one build out of its rocket technology campus.
US investing heavily into hypersonic technologies
Hypersonic technology development has continued in the background of the defence industrial base for decades, as countries attempt to bring down costs and increase viability as deployable capability. Hypersonic systems, generally associated directly or indirectly with missiles and other munitions, are platforms travelling in excess of Mach 5, up to around Mach 25.
The engine performance at such speeds requires a different combustion method, with ramjet and scramjet both being developed by world powers.
According to GlobalData’s thematic intelligence analysis into hypersonic technologies, the US is planning to spend an average of over $2bn per year through 2024 on developing hypersonic systems for the Air Force, US Army, and US Navy. (Source: army-technology.com)
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SPX CommTech, part of SPX Technologies Inc, innovates specialised technologies within the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum to ensure a smarter, more secure future for all. Formed by TCI and ECS, SPX CommTech’s Battlespace portfolio enables defence and security teams to detect, defeat and exploit RF signals to enhance communications intelligence (COMINT) and counter unmanned aerial systems (Counter-UAS). Additionally, its Tactical Data Link portfolio allows intelligence gathering agencies, special forces, emergency response, and security teams to securely and reliably transfer video and data between enabled-aircraft and ground teams over long distances for airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR). For more information visit www.tcibr.com and www.enterprisecontrol.co.uk
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