ILMINSTER: Gooch & Housego PLC, a British maker of specialized optical components, has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Washington-based private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners in an all-cash deal that values the company at roughly £345.6 million, the companies announced Wednesday.
Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Gooch & Housego, known as G&H, will receive 1,230 pence in cash for each share they hold, plus a previously declared interim dividend of 4.9 pence per share, for a total value of 1,234.9 pence per share. The cash offer represents a premium of about 40.7% over G&H’s closing share price of 874 pence on Tuesday, the last trading day before the announcement.
The deal will be carried out through Greenlight Bidco Limited, a newly formed vehicle indirectly owned by Arlington Capital Partners, or ACP. It is structured as a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the U.K.’s Companies Act 2006 and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals including national security clearance in the United Kingdom and antitrust clearance in the United States.
The transaction implies an enterprise value of £400.5 million for G&H, or about 25.9 times the company’s adjusted operating profit for the 12 months ended March 31.
Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, G&H designs and manufactures photonics components and systems used in aerospace and defense, industrial and life sciences applications, including imaging and sighting systems, laser communications and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company operates 11 manufacturing sites across the U.K., U.S. and Asia and trades on London’s AIM market under the ticker GHH.
G&H reported revenue of £150.5 million and adjusted pretax profit of £11.9 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025. Its order book grew 16.5% on a constant-currency basis to £167.3 million in the six months through March, driven largely by demand in aerospace and defense, where revenue rose more than 50% in the first half of the year.
Gooch & Housego’s board, advised by Investec and Rothschild & Co, said it unanimously intends to recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the deal. Company directors who hold shares have given irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor, covering about 0.44% of the company’s issued share capital. Those commitments will remain binding even if a rival bidder makes a higher offer, the companies said.
The board said ACP’s offer had not been solicited. According to the announcement, ACP made a series of unsolicited approaches before the two sides agreed on the current terms, with G&H’s directors saying earlier proposals had undervalued the company.
Arlington Capital Partners has raised more than $14 billion in committed capital and has a lengthy track record of investing in aerospace, defense and other regulated industries. The firm’s past acquisitions include naval services company Highwater, defense technology firm GRVTY and aerospace parts maker Keel, among others cited in Wednesday’s announcement.
Gary Bullard, chairman of G&H, said in a statement that the deal offers shareholders “imm US Private Equity Firm to Acquire UK Photonics Maker Gooch & Housego in $460 Million Deal
ILMINSTER, England — Gooch & Housego PLC, a British maker of specialized optical components, has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Washington-based private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners in an all-cash deal that values the company at roughly £345.6 million, the companies announced Wednesday.
Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Gooch & Housego, known as G&H, will receive 1,230 pence in cash for each share they hold, plus a previously declared interim dividend of 4.9 pence per share, for a total value of 1,234.9 pence per share. The cash offer represents a premium of about 40.7% over G&H’s closing share price of 874 pence on Tuesday, the last trading day before the announcement.
The deal will be carried out through Greenlight Bidco Limited, a newly formed vehicle indirectly owned by Arlington Capital Partners, or ACP. It is structured as a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the U.K.’s Companies Act 2006 and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals including national security clearance in the United Kingdom and antitrust clearance in the United States.
The transaction implies an enterprise value of £400.5 million for G&H, or about 25.9 times the company’s adjusted operating profit for the 12 months ended March 31.
Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, G&H designs and manufactures photonics components and systems used in aerospace and defense, industrial and life sciences applications, including imaging and sighting systems, laser communications and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company operates 11 manufacturing sites across the U.K., U.S. and Asia and trades on London’s AIM market under the ticker GHH.
G&H reported revenue of £150.5 million and adjusted pretax profit of £11.9 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025. Its order book grew 16.5% on a constant-currency basis to £167.3 million in the six months through March, driven largely by demand in aerospace and defense, where revenue rose more than 50% in the first half of the year.
Gooch & Housego’s board, advised by Investec and Rothschild & Co, said it unanimously intends to recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the deal. Company directors who hold shares have given irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor, covering about 0.44% of the company’s issued share capital. Those commitments will remain binding even if a rival bidder makes a higher offer, the companies said.
The board said ACP’s offer had not been solicited. According to the announcement, ACP made a series of unsolicited approaches before the two sides agreed on the current terms, with G&H’s directors saying earlier proposals had undervalued the company.
Arlington Capital Partners has raised more than $14 billion in committed capital and has a lengthy track record of investing in aerospace, defense and other regulated industries. The firm’s past acquisitions include naval services company Highwater, defense technology firm GRVTY and aerospace parts maker Keel, among others cited in Wednesday’s announcement.
Gary Bullard, chairman of G&H, said in a statement that the deal offers shareholders “immediate and certain value in cash at a significant premium to recent share price levels” while recognizing the company’s long-term growth prospects.
Peter Manos, managing partner at ACP, said the firm was “excited to partner” with G&H’s existing management team, including chief executive Charlie Peppiatt and chief financial officer James Corte, to expand the company’s customer base. Ben Ramundo, an ACP managing director, said the firm intends to invest with a longer time horizon to help G&H build capacity and expand into new optical and sensing applications.
The company said its scheme document, laying out further details of the transaction, is expected to be sent to shareholders within 28 days.
ediate and certain value in cash at a significant premium to recent share price levels” while recognizing the company’s long-term growth prospects.
Peter Manos, managing partner at ACP, said the firm was “excited to partner” with G&H’s existing management team, including chief executive Charlie Peppiatt and chief financial officer James Corte, to expand the company’s customer base. Ben Ramundo, an ACP managing director, said the firm intends to invest with a longer time horizon to help G&H build capacity and expand into new optical and sensing applications.
The company said its scheme document, laying out further details of the transaction, is expected to be sent to shareholders within 28 days.
