Disposal

RNS Number : 0336G

Cohort PLC

01 May 2014

 



1 MAY 2014

Cohort PLC

("Cohort" or "the Group")

Disposal

Agreed sale of SEA's Space division to Thales Alenia Space UK for up to £6.5 million

Cohort, the independent technology group, today announces that it has agreed to sell the Space division of its subsidiary SEA to Thales Alenia Space UK Ltd ("TAS UK"), a subsidiary of Thales Alenia Space. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions precedent, including the transition of existing contracts.

Based in Bristol, the space division of SEA provides research through to high-integrity space flight hardware for near Earth and deep space missions. The disposal is in line with the Board's stated policy to increase shareholder value through corporate activity where suitable opportunities arise. SEA's Space division was relatively small in scale and it is the Board's view therefore that the division would be better owned by a business with a stronger presence in the sector. The cash proceeds from the disposal will provide funds for investment in the Group's core businesses and for potential acquisitions.

TAS UK has agreed to acquire the business for an initial cash consideration of £5 million of which £2.5 million is due on signing with the balance to be paid on completion. In addition a price adjustment based on the working capital position at the time of completion may result in a further cash payment of up to £1.5 million. Completion is expected to be on or before 31 May 2014.

For the year ended 30 April 2013, the Space division reported gross margin of £0.3m on revenues of £5.1m and a small operating loss after overheads.  Gross assets were £5.4m as at 31 October 2013. After writing off goodwill of £2.0 million the transaction is expected to result in a non-cash exceptional loss before tax of up to £1.5 million being included in the Group's results for its financial year ended 30 April 2014. The disposal is expected to have a small negative effect on earnings for the year ended 30 April 2015.   

Andrew Thomis, Chief Executive Office of Cohort plc said:

"The disposal enables SEA to focus on its core defence and transport markets, and to build on its strong positions in naval communications, software, synthetic environments and other electronic systems.

"In Group terms it frees up resources and funding to pursue our growth strategy."

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For further information, please contact

Cohort plc	Andrew Thomis, Chief Executive Simon Walther, Finance Director	[phone]
Investec	Keith Anderson, Daniel Adams	[phone]
MHP Communications	Reg Hoare, Vicky Watkins, Ben Griffiths	[phone] [e-mail]

Cohort plc (www.cohortplc.com) (@Cohortplc)

Cohort is an independent technology group working primarily for defence (air, land and sea), wider government and industry clients, through three market-facing subsidiary companies:

Ÿ MASS(www.mass.co.uk) - a specialist systems house with considerable experience in the defence market and a focus on information systems. Based in Cambridgeshire, MASS was acquired by Cohort in August 2006;

Ÿ SCS(www.scs-ltd.co.uk) - a defence technical advisory business, combining technical expertise with practical experience and domain knowledge. Owned by Cohort since flotation in March 2006;

Ÿ SEA(www.sea.co.uk) - an advanced surveillance systems and software house with hardware development capability operating in the defence, space and transport market sectors. Acquired by Cohort in October 2007.

Cohort (AIM: CHRT) was admitted to London's Alternative Investment Market in March 2006. It has its headquarters in Berkshire and employs in total around 500 core staff there and at its other operating company sites in Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Somerset.

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), is a key European player in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures. Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio form the two parent companies' "Space Alliance", which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Because of its unrivaled expertise in dual (civil/military) missions, constellations, flexible payloads, altimetry, meteorology and high-resolution optical and radar instruments, Thales Alenia Space is the natural partner to countries that want to expand their space program. The company posted consolidated revenues in excess of 2 billion euros in 2013, and has 7,500 employees in six countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

 

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