BAE Systems Agrees to Buy Ball's Aerospace Unit for $5.55 Billion

By Joe Hoppe

BAE Systems said Thursday that it has agreed to buy Ball Corp.'s aerospace business for $5.55 billion in cash.

The U.K. defense-and-aerospace group said an expected net present value tax benefit of around $750 million would make the underlying economic consideration for the business around $4.8 billion. BAE is targeting closing the deal in the first half of 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals and conditions.

The company said the acquisition of Colorado-headquartered Ball Aerospace, which provides spacecraft, mission payloads, optical systems, and antenna systems, is a unique opportunity to strengthen its portfolio, as it has high revenue visibility and a strong growth outlook.

Ball Aerospace is expected to deliver revenue of around $2.2 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $310 million in 2023, BAE said. It further has strong growth potential with an expected revenue compound annual growth rate of around 10% over the next five years, and growth thereafter.

The proposed acquisition will be funded by a combination of new external debt and existing cash resources.

Ball, a supplier of beer cans, had said in mid-June it was considering a potential sale of the aerospace business.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2023 02:37 ET (06:37 GMT)

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