Aerospace company in £56m deal

A £56 million takeover deal has been sealed for a historic Wolverhampton aerospace company.

The Boulton Paul factory in Pendeford, most recently owned by GE Aviation Systems, has been bought.

The new owner is another American engineering group, New York-based Moog.

Moog announced overnight that it had completed the deal, paying £56.6 million cash for the UK business.

Around 470 people make flight controls for aircraft, including the new RAF Typhoon jet fighter, at the Wobaston Road plant. It is not thought the deal will have any implications for jobs.

Moog is a £1 billion precision engineering firm making controls and systems for aircraft, missiles, satellites and space vehicles as well as industrial and medical equipment.

Warren Johnson, president of Moog's Aircraft Controls Group, said today: "The organisation that we're acquiring is a world-class designer and manufacturer of aircraft actuation systems, with a specialty in high-lift actuation for commercial aircraft.

"We know that they will be a great addition to our team."

The Wolverhampton factory makes flight controls for Boeing's 777 and 787 airliners as well as the Airbus A330 and the A380 double-decker. Sales at the factory were £63 million last year.