Pensions are set to be a key battleground in the war to take control of defence firm Meggitt.
The Coventry business is being circled by American predators – engineer Parker-Hannifin and gantengqq private equity outfit Transdigm.
The tussle has outraged MPs and military figures who want Meggitt to retain its British roots amid fears of a hollowing out of the UK defence industry.
Pensions row: Defence firm Meggitt is being circled by American predators – engineer Parker-Hannifin and private equity outfit Transdigm
But one pensions expert has warned that retirement pots will increasingly become a deciding factor – meaning pension commitments could decide Meggitt’s future.
Alex Waite, an independent pensions consultant at LCP which is advising firms such as G4S as well as Parker-Hannifin as it pursues Meggitt, said pension trustees are becoming wary of the amount of debt involved in takeovers.
Trustees of the Morrisons pension schemes have sounded the alarm over the proposed £7billion deal for the supermarket chain.
From this autumn, company directors and pension trustees can be jailed or fined up to £1million for doing anything which ‘puts pension benefits at risk’.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS money" data-version="2" id="mol-543b37b0-05d6-11ec-a06f-55c2721a08ec" website summer continues with four new takeover deals on the cards