Britain’s Meggitt to Acquire Whittaker for $358 Million

Whittaker Corp. said Wednesday that it will be acquired by British aerospace engineering company Meggitt for $358 million in cash, ending the Simi Valley company’s yearlong search for a buyer.

Meggitt would pay $28 a share, a 4.2% premium to Whittaker’s closing price Tuesday of $26.87. On Wednesday, Whittaker’s stock gained 63 cents to close at $27.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Meggitt would also assume about $22 million in Whittaker debt.

A maker of fluid control valves and fire safety systems for commercial and military airplanes for nearly 60 years, Whittaker had $131 million in sales in fiscal 1998.

Both Meggitt and Whittaker supply Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie with aircraft parts and systems, and with its purchase, Meggitt hopes to increase that business. Wednesday’s deal was Meggitt’s fourth acquisition in 18 months.

Joseph F. Alibrandi, chairman and chief executive at Whittaker, said Meggitt has showed it wants to build off Whittaker’s success, even hinting that Meggitt might move its U.S. headquarters to Simi Valley from New Hampshire.

“It is not set in stone, but they mentioned it,” Alibrandi said of the possible move. None of Whittaker’s 600 employees will be laid off, the company said.

In late February, Whittaker hired CIBC Oppenheimer & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. to search for potential merger or acquisition partners after it had already begun exploring its options.

Meggitt makes water injection systems and other products in addition to aircraft equipment. It had 1998 sales of $47 million and $62 million in operating profit.

Also Wednesday, Whittaker reported net income for the second quarter ended April 30 of $8.9 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with $5.9 million, or 49 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $40.3 million from $33 million.