TransDigm was the more problematic bidder but the UK still needs solid assurances from Parker-Hannifin
• Meggitt takeover rival pulls out
That’s a relief – especially for Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary. TransDigm, by a distance the more problematic of the two bidders for Meggitt, the Coventry-based maker of components for commercial and military aircraft, is out of the race. The Ohio-based firm yanked its £7bn proposal on Tuesday and grumbled about “the quite limited due diligence information” that Meggitt made available.
You got the same data as Parker-Hannifin, the other contender, Meggitt quickly replied, giving a hint of the tensions behind the scenes. One speculative reading of that sub-plot is that TransDigm, already borrowed up to the eyeballs by conventional yardsticks, required every last financial detail to make its lenders comfortable.
