Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to sell Ultra Precision Control Systems (Ultra PCS), a UK provider of high-margin aerospace and defence technologies, to Eaton Corporation for $1.55bn, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The Cheltenham-based firm’s products include missile ejection systems and ice-protection gear for fighter jets including the F-35. Eaton, a US-based industrial conglomerate. The acquisition will expand its offering across both commercial and military aviation markets.
The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2026, is Eaton’s largest defence-related acquisition since it bought Cobham Mission Systems from Advent in 2021 for $2.8bn – highlighting Advent’s ongoing repositioning and divestment of assets within the Cobham-Ultra portfolio, which it began assembling in 2020 with a £4bn acquisition of Cobham.
For Advent, the Ultra PCS exit is part of a broader strategy that has seen the firm break up and sell off pieces of Ultra Electronics and Cobham to strategic buyers, capitalising on renewed demand for advanced defence technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions and increased European defence budgets.
Advent has already sold Cobham Satcom and ScioTeq in similar transactions, generating strong returns and tapping into the appetite from strategics like Eaton and Tikehau Capital, which this week acquired ScioTeq via its aerospace and defence fund.
Eaton reportedly moved early to pre-empt a formal auction, securing the Ultra PCS deal ahead of potential rivals. The business is expected to generate around $240m in sales in 2025, implying a 6.5x sales multiple, a valuation some analysts deem rich, but justified by Ultra PCS’s strategic product fit and growth profile.
