VT Group has decided to sell its 150-year-old shipbuilding business in order to take advantage of bargains which cash-rich companies are prepared to make in the current economic climate.

The group’s 45% stake in BVT Surface Fleet will be sold to, BAE, which is partner in a joint venture, for £ 380m earliest by July; the time VT will be able to exercise sale option approved by shareholders last year.

The deal which received green signal from the Ministry of Defence, will allow VT to shift focus on its support services business which already generates 80% of group’s revenues.

After completing process of offloading BVT, the group will look for acquisitions both in the UK and the US, where it has set target of doubling its £385m ($550m) turnover.

A spokesman for the VT group claimed that those with big cash balances in the banks were in stronger position these days. In the prevailing climate money was going further than it could 12 months ago. The spokesman believed that by offloading BVT now, than after two or three years, VT would be in a stronger position for acquisitions.

BAE and VT, two of the UK’s largest, had merged their shipbuilding business last July. The deal had allowed VT to sell its stake after June 2009.

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