UK defence and aerospace contractor Cobham has been bought by US private equity fund Advent for £4 billion.

Cobham has been struggling to get back on track after incurring very large debts on takeovers.

It needed  £500 million rights issue when it ran into trouble on a USAF contract.

Cobham CEO David Lockwood called  the offer an “endorsement of the turnaround strategy”  he has been implementing for the last two and a half years.

“These fundamentals, along with the investment in the business Advent can provide, will enable us to leverage the quality of our products and services,” said Lockwood.