Grant Shapps waves through $10bn Aveva deal despite security concerns
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Grant Shapps swings through $10 billion Aveva deal despite safety concerns over sale of British tech champion to China-linked conglomerate
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Grant Shapps faced a backlash last night after defying calls to investigate the takeover of a British tech giant by a conglomerate with ties to China.
The Business Secretary approved the £10bn deal despite calls from analysts and politicians for it to be reviewed under the National Security and Investment Act.
Aveva, a FTSE 100 company that provides software to help engineers design major industrial projects and products to help factories run, is on the verge of being bought by French company Schneider following a crunch vote last month in which it overcame opposition from major shareholders.
Company Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) waved the Aveva deal through despite calls from analysts and politicians to review it under the National Security and Investment Act
Schneider will now acquire the 41 percent of the company it doesn’t already own, taking Aveva off the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and tarnishing the UK’s credibility as a hub for innovative technology companies.
The acquisition has also sparked concern in political circles over the French company’s ties to China.
Schneider has had a joint venture with Chinese conglomerate Delixi Electric since 2007, prompting critics to fear Aveva’s patented technology is under threat from Beijing.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘The government should have at least turned it on to see what the potential is for data, technology, information or anything to help the Chinese government.
That should be investigated before passing on.
“It should be standard practice to report it first if there is any Chinese involvement, that should be the government’s standard.”
And Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, said: ‘It’s disappointing because they set up this whole process for exactly this reason.
“The process appears not to have been followed, for no reason.”
Shapps decided yesterday that the government would take “no further action” regarding the deal under the NSI Act, which allows authorities to intervene and even block acquisitions on national security grounds.
A month earlier, Shapps blocked China’s acquisition of Britain’s largest microchip maker, Newport Wafer Fab, citing security concerns.
The government used its powers under the NSI Act to order Nexperia to reduce its stake by 86 percent.
The deal also dealt a blow to Jeremy Hunt’s plans to make the UK “the world’s next Silicon Valley” by combining the country’s science and technology prowess with its “formidable financial services”.