For BAE Systems, it was one giant leap into the space defence market. The British group has announced it is paying $5.6 billion (£4.4 billion) for Ball Aerospace, one of the great heritage names in US space development. It is paying in cash – from its reserves and from new debt to be raised – making it one of the largest all-cash deals in UK corporate history.
However, the share price took a tumble as investors fretted whether the company – better known for constructing warships and submarines for the Royal Navy, fighter jets for the Royal Air Force and Saudi Arabia, and munitions in use in the Ukraine conflict – may have paid over the odds to secure its place in the world of
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