Government 'to sale QinetiQ stake'
Government 'to sale QinetiQ stake'
2008-06-30Newsfeed
The controversy over the successful former Government-owned defence research group QinetiQ, looks set to see the remaining publicly owned part of the firm sold off to several buyers.
The controversy over the successful former Government-owned defence research group QinetiQ, looks set to see the remaining publicly owned part of the firm sold off to several buyers.
The Government retains a 19% stack in the firm, which a Commons committee of public accounts claimed it had sold off too cheaply three weeks ago.
Merrill Lynch has been tasked with finding more than one buyer for the stake, which is valued at around �250m.
Italy's Finmeccanica and Franco-German firm EADS are thought to be interested, despite Government plans to retain a "golden share" to veto a takeover if necessary.
Shares in the company closed up 1.5p at 200p on Friday - the same price at which it was floated in February 2006 - valuing the business at �1.32bn.
But one defence analyst told the Daily Telegraph: "If the MoD sells now, it could be seen as a signal in the market that it believes the price is not going much further. This [sale] will have to be handled very carefully."
An MoD spokesman said "no decision has been taken" over a possible sale.
Copyright � The Press Association 2008
