UK Conditionally Clears Naval Tie-Up, Global Competition Review

Partner Leonidas Theodosiou spoke with Global Competition Review about the UK government’s conditional approval of Fairbanks Morse Defense’s £225 million acquisition of Truflo Marine, a UK manufacturer of submarine components, following a national security review.

Leonidas noted that the government’s concerns appear to focus on the strategic importance of the target business and the implications of transferring control, rather than the identity of the US buyer. He explained that the remedies fall into familiar categories of national security safeguards, potentially involving restrictions on access to technical information, personnel security requirements, and continued UK manufacturing and supply commitments.

The decision “reinforces that investors from close UK allies are not exempt from scrutiny where strategically important defence capabilities are involved,” he said.

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