Cobham bags defence contracts

Defence technology manufacturer Cobham said it had taken £13m of orders from NATO countries in the first quarter of 2012.

Cobham said the contracts were to supply ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and support solutions for an unspecified number of NATO customers.

The orders would be delivered during 2012 from its Cobham Antenna Systems site in Leatherhead, UK, the firm said.

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"Cobham has been developing GPR technologies for many years and we continue to provide leading-edge Counter-Improvised Explosive Device capabilities for the most demanding military requirements,' said Fred Cahill, Vice President of Cobham Antenna Systems.

There was no word on Cobham's hostile bid for Danish satellite communications outfit Thrane and Thrane.

The UK group has offered 420 Danish kroner for each share of Thrane & Thrane, the same price rejected by the Danish company's board back in March after a year of negotiations.

However, things have moved on since then with Cobham increasing its stake in Thrane & Thrane after institutional investors representing 22.74% of the Danish company's shares decided that they would be happy to take Cobham's cash at that price.

The terms of the Cobham offer value Thrane & Thrane at around £270m.

Cobham said the terms of the offer would not be increased, save in the event of the intervention of a potential rival bidder.