The firm behind Bond Helicopters could be taken over in a £1.5billion deal, it has emerged.
Engineering services giant Babcock International is in talks over a tie-up with Avincis, the firm which owns the Bond Aviation Group.
Babcock, which is involved in the construction of Britain’s two new aircraft carriers, confirmed discussions to form a “joint venture” with Avincis.
It is thought FTSE 100 Index-listed Babcock is looking to buy a significant stake in Avincis, and weekend reports linked it with a takeover that would see it pay £1billion and take on £500million of debt.
Babcock said such a deal would help it expand in the UK and overseas, but stressed there was no certainty the talks would lead to a transaction.
A spokesman for Avincis added: “Following speculation, Avincis Group, a leading international provider of aviation services for mission critical operations, confirms that it is in exclusive discussions regarding the establishment of a joint venture with Babcock International Group, the UK’s leading engineering support services company.
“However, there can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to any transaction or any certainty as to the terms upon which any such transaction might proceed.
“A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”
Avincis is headquartered in London, but is owned by US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Italian buyout firm Investindustrial, which also owns Aston Martin. It owns Bond Aviation Group, with 23 sites across the UK, including the Aberdeen-based search and rescue service and offshore crew transfer hub, and has fleets in 10 countries and nearly 3,000 employees.
Babcock has a 27,000-strong workforce and runs the Devonport and Rosyth dockyards.
It earns just over half its sales from the Ministry of Defence, but also maintains power grids and railway stations, as well as providing services to the nuclear power sector.
The group posted a 17% hike in half-year pre-tax profits to £141.7 million earlier this month, thanks to a 9% rise in revenues.
Babcock is part of a BAE Systems-led consortium working on the UK’s new 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers and pieces together huge parts of the vessels at its Rosyth shipyard in Scotland.