Buying £4.4bn Nasa supplier will let us track hypersonic missiles from space, says BAE
Howard Mustoe
Thu, 17 August 2023
BAE has purchased Ball Aerospace, a Nasa supplier that makes satellite instruments used on the James Webb Space Telescope - HANDOUT/NASA/AFP via Getty Images
BAE Systems has agreed to buy Nasa supplier Ball Aerospace for $5.6bn (£4.4bn), as the defence giant ventures further into space warfare.
The blockbuster acquisition, the largest in BAE’s history, will grant it technology that can track armies and weapons from space, in a move towards stopping hypersonic missiles that move five times faster than sound.
Ball Aerospace, which has 5,200 employees, sells hi-tech equipment to Nasa and the Pentagon, as well as working on the Hubble and James Webb telescopes.
It forms part of America’s booming space sector, which is now worth more than $200bn.
Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE, said he sees space as “becoming an increasingly important domain of future warfare”.
“It has been one of the areas that has seen the largest growth in defence budgets, and particularly in the US, which has the largest defence budget in the world,” he added.
Howard Mustoe
Thu, 17 August 2023
BAE has purchased Ball Aerospace, a Nasa supplier that makes satellite instruments used on the James Webb Space Telescope - HANDOUT/NASA/AFP via Getty Images
BAE Systems has agreed to buy Nasa supplier Ball Aerospace for $5.6bn (£4.4bn), as the defence giant ventures further into space warfare.
The blockbuster acquisition, the largest in BAE’s history, will grant it technology that can track armies and weapons from space, in a move towards stopping hypersonic missiles that move five times faster than sound.
Ball Aerospace, which has 5,200 employees, sells hi-tech equipment to Nasa and the Pentagon, as well as working on the Hubble and James Webb telescopes.
It forms part of America’s booming space sector, which is now worth more than $200bn.
Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE, said he sees space as “becoming an increasingly important domain of future warfare”.
“It has been one of the areas that has seen the largest growth in defence budgets, and particularly in the US, which has the largest defence budget in the world,” he added.
BAE Systems chief Charles Woodburn hailed the ‘strong growth prospects and a close fit’ the Ball Aerospace deal provided - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
BAE is one of several companies considering its response to the changing missile capabilities of Russia and China, both of which have tested hypersonics in recent years.
Typical rockets fly at about Mach 3, while hypersonics travel at a minimum of Mach 5, about 3,800mph which is five times the speed of sound.
Ships are thought to be particularly vulnerable to attack, especially if they face a number of the weapons at once – posing a major threat to the aircraft carriers that the West uses to project power across the world.
The deal for Ball will also improve BAE’s standing in the US, which is the firm’s biggest market and accounts for 44pc of its revenues.
This is followed by the UK, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
BAE, which makes the UK’s Typhoon fighter jets and all of its attack and nuclear submarines, has seen orders soar in the last year following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Tom Arseneault, president of BAE’s US business said technology that can track hypersonic weapons is now “moving into the space domain”.
He said 85pc of Ball’s revenues comes from its defence divisions.
However, in the US, Ball’s parent group is better known for its aluminium drinks cans and cups. It started off as a maker of kits for home bottling of jams, pickles and other preserves.
Analysts at Jefferies said the deal was a “good fit, although slightly expensive” as BAE will pay 14 times the firm’s earnings.
Earlier this month, BAE said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and funding for the UK’s new fleet of nuclear submarines had boosted sales.
Revenues jumped 11pc to £12bn for the first six months of the year, with further increases forecast.
In May, BAE was awarded a £1.8bn contract to build 246 CV90 armoured vehicles for the Czech Republic.
The vehicle is a big seller for BAE and has been bought by Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Sweden has agreed to donate 51 of them to Ukraine.
Sales also came from Poland, which purchased anti-aircraft missiles from MBDA, the European missile maker in which BAE has a stake.
Mr Woodburn has also discussed setting up weapons production inside Ukraine during talks with the country’s Volodymyr Zelensky, in a further sign of Britain’s role in arming Ukrainian forces.
The BAE chief said on Thursday that the Ball deal is a “unique opportunity to add a high quality, fast-growing, technology-focused business”.
“It’s rare that a business of this quality, scale and complementary capabilities, with strong growth prospects and a close fit to our strategy, becomes available,” he added
BAE buys US defence giant Ball Aerospace for £4.4bn
August Graham, PA Business Reporter
Thu, 17 August 2023
UK defence contractor BAE Systems has said it has signed a multi-billion dollar deal to buy a company which supplies parts to the James Webb telescope and the US’s fighter jets.
BAE said it would buy Ball Aerospace from the Ball Corporation for 5.6 billion dollars (£4.4 billion), gaining it more than 5,200 new employees and a Colorado headquarters. More than 60% of those employees have security clearances in the US.
“The proposed acquisition of Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to add a high-quality, fast-growing, technology-focused business with significant capabilities to our core business that is performing strongly and well positioned for sustained growth,” said BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn.
Ball Aerospace has become a leader in space telescopes (Luke Watkinson/BAE/PA)
“It’s rare that a business of this quality, scale and complementary capabilities, with strong growth prospects and a close fit to our strategy, becomes available.”
It marks the end of the nearly 70-year journey for Ball Corporation and Ball Aerospace.
The latter was set up after the Second World War to find new revenues for the Ball business, which was worried that it could lose relevance as refrigeration ate into the need for the food canning market which it traditionally occupied.
Ball Aerospace went on to be involved in the space race, built components for the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. It also supplies parts for the US’s cutting-edge F-35 fighter jet, which is also in service in the UK.
We’re excited to announce the proposed acquisition of @BallAerospace, a leading space and defence technology company.
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/z6FIbyCLE5
— BAE Systems (@BAESystemsplc) August 17, 2023
Ball Corporation chief executive Daniel Fisher said: “Since 1956, generations of dedicated Ball Aerospace colleagues have transformed a business of humble beginnings into a thriving enterprise offering innovative capabilities in a world that needs rapid, scalable technology solutions.
“In recent years, the business has positioned itself to have an even greater contribution to customers’ missions and delivered fourfold growth and record levels of combined contracted and won-not-booked backlog.
“The complementary cultural fit of Ball Aerospace and BAE Systems and their combined position as a pure play aerospace and technologies company will leverage Ball’s recent investments in talent and facilities located across the country and centred in Boulder, Broomfield and Westminster, Colorado, to provide a multi-dimensional platform for vital national defence, intelligence, and science hardware, software and space-based assets.”
August Graham, PA Business Reporter
Thu, 17 August 2023
UK defence contractor BAE Systems has said it has signed a multi-billion dollar deal to buy a company which supplies parts to the James Webb telescope and the US’s fighter jets.
BAE said it would buy Ball Aerospace from the Ball Corporation for 5.6 billion dollars (£4.4 billion), gaining it more than 5,200 new employees and a Colorado headquarters. More than 60% of those employees have security clearances in the US.
“The proposed acquisition of Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to add a high-quality, fast-growing, technology-focused business with significant capabilities to our core business that is performing strongly and well positioned for sustained growth,” said BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn.
Ball Aerospace has become a leader in space telescopes (Luke Watkinson/BAE/PA)
“It’s rare that a business of this quality, scale and complementary capabilities, with strong growth prospects and a close fit to our strategy, becomes available.”
It marks the end of the nearly 70-year journey for Ball Corporation and Ball Aerospace.
The latter was set up after the Second World War to find new revenues for the Ball business, which was worried that it could lose relevance as refrigeration ate into the need for the food canning market which it traditionally occupied.
Ball Aerospace went on to be involved in the space race, built components for the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. It also supplies parts for the US’s cutting-edge F-35 fighter jet, which is also in service in the UK.
We’re excited to announce the proposed acquisition of @BallAerospace, a leading space and defence technology company.
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/z6FIbyCLE5
— BAE Systems (@BAESystemsplc) August 17, 2023
Ball Corporation chief executive Daniel Fisher said: “Since 1956, generations of dedicated Ball Aerospace colleagues have transformed a business of humble beginnings into a thriving enterprise offering innovative capabilities in a world that needs rapid, scalable technology solutions.
“In recent years, the business has positioned itself to have an even greater contribution to customers’ missions and delivered fourfold growth and record levels of combined contracted and won-not-booked backlog.
“The complementary cultural fit of Ball Aerospace and BAE Systems and their combined position as a pure play aerospace and technologies company will leverage Ball’s recent investments in talent and facilities located across the country and centred in Boulder, Broomfield and Westminster, Colorado, to provide a multi-dimensional platform for vital national defence, intelligence, and science hardware, software and space-based assets.”
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