Acquisitions will provide a strong regional presence in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

QinetiQ Group plc, an international defence and security technology company, announces today that it has signed agreements to purchase two Australian defence consulting businesses, Ball Solutions Group Pty Ltd and Novare Services Pty Ltd. These acquisitions are being acquired for a total cash consideration of A$20 million and are subject to regulatory approval. They represent QinetiQ's first investment in Australia and provide the company with a presence of 185 staff located in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Ball Solutions Group is a provider of professional and consulting services, primarily to the Australian Department of Defence, has annual revenues of A$29 million and is being acquired from Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp of Broomfield, Colorado, USA. It operates in three main practice areas: business systems and applications; data acquisition and management; and operations research and analysis.

Novare provides engineering and logistics services to the Australian Department of Defence, its prime contractors and selected commercial partners. It has annual revenues of A$6.1 million and is being acquired from its management, who will remain with the company. Novare’s core expertise is in explosive ordnance and weapons, aerospace systems, advanced technical data management and performance based contracting.

These acquisitions represent the continuing execution of QinetiQ’s strategy to grow its Europe, Middle East and Australasia (EMEA) capabilities. They will enhance QinetiQ’s portfolio of defence and security based expertise, provide additional routes to market and broaden QinetiQ’s customer base through existing relationships and contractual arrangements.

Commenting on the acquisitions Graham Love, group chief executive officer of QinetiQ said: "These acquisitions reflect our confidence in the strength of the Australian defence market and will establish QinetiQ as a leading provider of independent advice services within the country. We will also be seeking to leverage synergies between these companies and our businesses in the UK and USA to provide additional benefits to our Australian customers."

Dick Hedges, managing director of Ball Solutions, welcomed the acquisition of his business by QinetiQ. “We have worked with QinetiQ for some time and we share the common objective of providing independent defence services in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.”

Greg Wilcock, managing director of Novare, stated that his team very much look forward to being a part of QinetiQ and drawing on a strong international technology base.

The acquisitions are subject to Australian and US Government regulatory approval and are expected to complete by the end of February 2008, after which the companies will trade as QinetiQ Consulting Pty Ltd.

QinetiQ
03.01.2008