Dec 21 (Reuters) - The British government has approved
Advent International's $5 billion purchase of defence company
Cobham Plc after the U.S. private equity group offered a
number of commitments to address national security concerns.
"Having considered the consultation responses and further
advice from the Defence Secretary, I am satisfied that the
undertakings mitigate the national security risks identified to
an acceptable level and have therefore accepted them and cleared
the merger to proceed", Business Minister Andrea Leadsom said in
a statement http://bit.ly/2PIzbkS on Friday.
She had said on Tuesday that Britain was now minded to
accept the deal after Advent put forward several legal
undertakings, including to place a number of British executives
on Cobham's boards.
Leadsom had earlier put the deal on hold while she
established whether the sale of the air-to-air refuelling
equipment maker posed a national security threat.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)