CAES Space Systems was sold to Veritas Capital for a deal value just shy of USD 2bn, said three sources familiar with the matter.

This news service reported on 3 October that Veritas Capital was the front runner to acquire Advent International-backed Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions' (CAES) space business after final bids were collected.

Veritas Capital, AMETEK [NYSE:AME] and BAE Systems [LON:BA] were among the bidders circling the business, as reported.

Colorado Springs, Colorado-based CAES Space Systems sold for an EBITDA multiple north of 15x off around USD 130m in EBITDA, the three sources said. Its sale was being run by Goldman Sachs’ and Lazard’s US-based teams, this news service reported in June.

The sale of CAES’ space unit is part of Advent International-backed owner Cobham Limited’s larger ambitions to sell the entire division, as reported. The remaining parts of CAES are expected to come to market in a separate auction after the space unit is sold, it was further reported. EBITDA for the whole of CAES is around USD 225m-USD 235m, as reported.

Advent has made several moves over the years to restructure Cobham’s portfolio, most recently selling Cobham Microwave to Fonds de Consolidation et Developpement des Entreprises in March and launching a sale of Cobham Aviation Services in Australia in February, according to media reports. It also sold Cobham Mission Systems to Eaton [NYSE:ETN] in 2021.

Advent acquired Cobham Limited in 2020 in a USD 5bn deal. Under its ownership, Cobham has signed several high-profile contracts, including a USD 500m supplier deal between its CAES unit and Raytheon Technologies.

Cobham won the UK government's approval for its GBP 2.57bn takeover of UK-based Ultra Electronics in July.

Cobham, Advent International and Lazard declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and Veritas Capital did not return requests for comment.