VT sells shipbuilding JV stake to BAE
LONDON (Reuters) - Defence company VT Group (VTG.L) has sold its 45 percent stake in shipbuilding consortium BVT Surface Fleet to BAE Systems (BAES.L) for 346 million pounds, giving BAE total ownership of the venture.
As part of the deal VT Group will also inject 43 million pounds of capital into BVT, relating to the performance of certain export contracts, on completion of the deal.
VT will seek approval for the transaction from its shareholders at a general company meeting next month with BAE expecting the deal to be complete before the end of the year.
BVT, which owns the Govan and Scotstoun shipyards near Glasgow as well as two in Portsmouth, was set up as a partnership between BAE and VT Group in June 2008.
"This completes the final step of our exit from our shipbuilding and related activities. It will leave us in a strong financial position with net cash on our balance sheet and positions us to continue to pursue a growth strategy focussing exclusively on support services," VT Chief Executive Paul Lester said in a statement.
(Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by Victoria Bryan)
