QinetiQ doubles size of US operations with acquisition of MTEQ

Published by

Nicky Godding

QinetiQ, the British Security & Defence Contractor and leading science and engineering company operating primarily in the defence, security and aerospace markets, which employs around 6,000 people across the UK, including at a major site in Malvern employing around 900 people, and other sites in Pershore and Milton Park, Oxfordshire has announced it will acquire USA-based Manufacturing Techniques Inc. (MTEQ) on a cash-free, debt-free basis for $105 million.

MTEQ is a leading US provider of advanced sensing solutions with a strong reputation for mission-led innovation, rapidly developing and fielding operationally relevant solutions to deliver information advantage to the warfighter. In the 12 months to 31 August 2019, MTEQ generated $167.4 million of revenue, $11.4 million of EBITDA, and $11.0m of EBITA on an unaudited basis.

MTEQ employs 360 people in Virginia and has strong customer relationships, particularly with the US Army, supporting a number of its modernisation priority programmes. The business develops next generation sensing solutions, including integrating outputs from multiple sensors, to provide information that enables operational advantage in the modern battlespace. MTEQ is renowned for disruptive and agile innovation across the full cycle of sensor solutions development and use, including design, development, integration, low-volume production, deployment and analytics. Following completion, the business will continue to be led by its existing management team.

Qinetiq says the Acquistion will accelerate its growth in the US, the world’s largest defence and security market and will create a US operation of around $300m and 750 employees.

Steve Wadey, QinetiQ CEO, said: “The acquisition of MTEQ is a significant step towards achieving our ambition to build an integrated global defence and security company, more than doubling the size of our operations in the largest defence and security market in the world.

“MTEQ is a growing business that is thriving because of its ability to apply state-of-the-art sensing technology to enhance information and intelligence that are so critical to modern warfare. I am excited that MTEQ will be joining QinetiQ as its core proposition of rapidly creating new and disruptive capabilities to respond to emerging threats is so well aligned to our own. I look forward to welcoming MTEQ expert employees and high quality leadership team to QinetiQ.”

Mary Williams, MTEQ President and CEO, said: “We are excited to be joining QinetiQ, a company renowned for its technical expertise. The combined businesses will have a leading position in technologies that are critical to next generation warfighting capabilities, enabling us to offer solutions to evermore complex and challenging customer requirements. Most importantly for me, QinetiQ and MTEQ share a common philosophy of partnership and collaboration with our customers, which will continue to be the foundation for our future success.”

The transaction is subject to certain regulatory and legal approvals and is expected to close in the second half of QinetiQ’s financial year 2020.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.