Senior has secured court approval for its takeover by a consortium backed by Tinicum and Blackstone, clearing one of the final steps before the engineering group leaves the London market.
The court sanctioned the scheme of arrangement on 6 October. The transaction is expected to become effective on 8 October once the court order has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
Senior agreed the recommended cash acquisition in April with Zeus UK Bidco, a company indirectly controlled by funds advised by affiliates of Tinicum and Blackstone. The offer values Senior at about £1.28bn on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value of around £1.40bn.
Shareholders are due to receive 297.85p in cash alongside a final dividend of 2.15p per share, taking the total value to 300p per share for qualifying holdings.
Regulatory conditions were confirmed as satisfied on 29 September, leaving court sanction and the remaining scheme mechanics as the principal outstanding requirements. The latest ruling means the transaction is now approaching legal completion.
The final day for dealings in Senior shares is expected to be 7 October. Trading is due to be suspended before the market opens on 8 October, with the listing and admission to trading expected to be cancelled on 9 October if the scheme becomes effective as planned.
Senior designs and manufactures components and systems for aerospace, defence, land vehicle and power markets. Its acquisition will place another established UK-listed engineering company under private ownership.
The transaction comes during continued debate over the depth of London’s public equity market, including the number of companies disappearing through takeovers or choosing alternative ownership structures.
Private ownership can give management and investors greater control over capital allocation and long-term restructuring without the same public market reporting cycle. Buyers still need operating performance and cash generation to justify the price paid.
Tinicum has a long history of industrial investment, while Blackstone operates across a much broader global alternatives portfolio. Their combined ownership gives Senior access to sizeable pools of private capital while transferring accountability away from public shareholders.
Once the scheme becomes effective, share certificates will cease to represent valid title and holdings in CREST will be cancelled. The remaining timetable would remove Senior from the London market on 9 October, completing the ownership change announced earlier this year.
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