By Anthony O. Goriainoff
Chemring Group PLC said Thursday that it has bought Cubica Technology Ltd. and Q6 Holdings Ltd. for an initial cash consideration of 7.0 million pounds ($9.9 million).
The company said this will create further opportunities for it to enhance and accelerate growth in its Roke cybersecurity business.
The U.K. defense company said the acquisition was funded using its existing bank facilities, and a further deferred consideration of up to GBP2.0 million is payable in Chemring ordinary shares in two tranches. The company said this will take place on the second and third anniversary of completion, and is subject to certain performance conditions being met.
Cubica is a research-and-development company based in Surrey, England, which specializes in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data fusion and autonomy. It mostly supplies to the defense and security sectors including the U.K. government, law enforcement, as well as international defense suppliers, Chemring said.
The company said that Q6 is the majority shareholder in Vigil AI Ltd., which provides technology that enables online platforms to detect imagery related to child sexual exploitation.
"This acquisition is further evidence of Chemring delivering against its strategy and demonstrates the progress that has been made on our path to long-term sustainable growth," Chief Executive Michael Ord said.
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
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