HOOK (dpa-AFX) - Serco Group plc (SRP.L) has agreed to buy the Naval Systems Business Unit and related contracting entities or NSBU, from Alion Science & Technology Corp. for $225 million. NSBU is a provider of naval design, systems engineering, as well as production and lifecycle support services to the US Navy, US Army and Royal Canadian Navy.
Rupert Soames, Serco Group Chief Executive, said: 'The combined business will be a top tier supplier of services to the US Navy, which has recently announced plans to increase the fleet from 280 to 355 ships by 2034, and we see a long-term and growing demand for the capabilities that the combination of Serco and NSBU will be able to provide.'
Serco Group expects to complete the acquisition in the second half of 2019. For 2020, the Group expects the acquisition to be accretive to current analyst consensus of underlying EPS by 7-9%. In 2020, NSBU is projected to contribute revenue of approximately 285 million pounds.
To fund the acquisition, Serco plans to place up to 111,216,400 new ordinary shares in the company, representing up to 10 percent of the existing issued ordinary share capital, with both existing and new institutional investors. The placing is anticipated to raise gross proceeds of around 130 million pounds.
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