Babcock To Take Over Avincis

Engineering support specialist Babcock International has entered a conditional agreement to acquire the Avincis group, the parent company of operators Inaer, Bond, Australian Helicopters and Norsk Helikopterservice, for £920 million ($1.5 billion). Completion of the proposed acquisition, from a vehicle owned mainly by KKR and Investindustrial, is conditional on approval by Babcock shareholders and antitrust authorities. The actual transaction is expected to take place this year.