Cobham to buy S-TEC

Wimbourne, Dorset headquartered aerospace and defence company

has agreed to buy

autopilot manufacturer

from

for $38m (£19.7m) in cash.

S-TEC designs, certifies and manufactures autopilots for general aviation aircraft, ranging from small single-engined to light commuter aircraft. Based at Mineral Wells Airport in Texas, S-TEC has a workforce of 180, including skilled avionics engineers who are capable of supporting the development of Cobham products.

According to Cobham, S-TEC is a good technological and market fit for delivering a full set of cockpit avionics for Cobham’s customers. OEMs increasingly expect their avionics supplier to provide an autopilot solution, with the market moving towards the inclusion of autopilots in EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System) type displays, such as Cobham’s, to reduce weight, wiring and integration costs. S-TEC also has a strong presence in the retrofit market which Cobham can tap into, and works with many OEMs including Adam, Cirrus, Eclipse, Piper and Pilatus.

Allan Cook, Cobham’s chief executive said: ‘S-TEC is an excellent technological and market fit in our development of a Cobham cockpit of avionics, with products from both companies certified together on more than 500 aircraft types.’

The companies expect the deal to be completed before the end of the year.