Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc. Alvis acquired Swedish armoured vehicle manufacturer Hagglunds AB in 1997 and the armoured vehicle business of GKN in 1998.
Alvis became part of Rover in 1965, which ended the company's car manufacturing in 1967 to allow it to concentrate on the manufacture of armoured vehicles. In 1968 Rover and its Alvis subsidiary were incorporated into the Leyland Motor Corporation later British Leyland or BL. In 1981 the then nationalised BL sold the Alvis business to United Scientific Holdings for £27 million. United Scientific was a manufacturer of military sighting products.
In 1992 United Scientific adopted the name Alvis plc.
In October 1997 Alvis acquired Hägglunds which was later renamed Alvis Hagglunds AB. In September 1998 Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of GKN in a deal which saw GKN take a 29.9% stake in Alvis. GKN's shareholding was purchased by BAE Systems in September 2003 for £73 million.[1]
In early 2000 Alvis sold a share of its Avimo Group optronics subsidiary to Thomson-CSF and sold all of its remaining shareholding to Thales Group (the renamed Thomson-CSF) in 2001.
In 2002 Alvis acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls-Royce for £16 million and merged it with its existing UK business to form Alvis Vickers.[2] The acquisition of Vickers brought the Challenger tank into Alvis' portfolio, as well as Vickers' successful military bridging division and its South African subsidiary Vickers OMC.
BAE takeoveredit
In 2004, the board of Alvis approved a £309m takeover bid by the American defence company General Dynamics. Within three months BAE Systems, which already had a 29% stake in the company, outbid General Dynamics by offering £355m. The action was seen as a defence of the home market from a foreign rival. David Mulholland of Jane's Defence Weekly said "I don't believe BAE expects to make money from this deal," characterising the purchase as strategic rather than commercial. The bid was accepted by the majority of shareholders.[3]
In September 2004, BAE announced the creation of BAE Systems Land Systems, a new company bringing together the BAE subsidiaries, BAE Systems RO Defence and Alvis Vickers. Alvis Vickers became BAE Systems Land Systems (Weapons & Vehicles) Limited, a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land Systems. In 2005, the acquisition of United Defense led to the creation of BAE Systems Land & Armaments.
^. BAE Systems plc. 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2006.. Press release
^"Vickers taken over by Alvis". BBC News. 1 October 2002.
^"BAE triumphs in tank firm battle". BBC News. 4 June 2004.
External linksedit
Earley Engineering – Alvis Sales and Restoration
December 20, 2023
alvis, alvis, created, when, united, scientific, holdings, acquired, alvis, division, nationalised, vehicle, manufacturer, british, leyland, 1981, united, scientific, maintained, name, until, 1992, when, group, renamed, alvis, acquired, swedish, armoured, vehi. Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981 United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc Alvis acquired Swedish armoured vehicle manufacturer Hagglunds AB in 1997 and the armoured vehicle business of GKN in 1998 Alvis plcAlvis Vickers plcFounded1981Defunct2004FateAcquired by BAE SystemsSuccessorBAE Systems Land SystemsHeadquartersLondon EnglandAlvis Vickers in context of the evolution of the land systems division of BAE Systems 1970s to Land amp Armaments formationIt acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls Royce in October 2002 Alvis was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 and became BAE Systems Land Systems Weapons amp Vehicles now part of the BAE Systems Land amp Armaments operating group Contents 1 History 1 1 BAE takeover 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editAlvis became part of Rover in 1965 which ended the company s car manufacturing in 1967 to allow it to concentrate on the manufacture of armoured vehicles In 1968 Rover and its Alvis subsidiary were incorporated into the Leyland Motor Corporation later British Leyland or BL In 1981 the then nationalised BL sold the Alvis business to United Scientific Holdings for 27 million United Scientific was a manufacturer of military sighting products In 1992 United Scientific adopted the name Alvis plc In October 1997 Alvis acquired Hagglunds which was later renamed Alvis Hagglunds AB In September 1998 Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of GKN in a deal which saw GKN take a 29 9 stake in Alvis GKN s shareholding was purchased by BAE Systems in September 2003 for 73 million 1 In early 2000 Alvis sold a share of its Avimo Group optronics subsidiary to Thomson CSF and sold all of its remaining shareholding to Thales Group the renamed Thomson CSF in 2001 In 2002 Alvis acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls Royce for 16 million and merged it with its existing UK business to form Alvis Vickers 2 The acquisition of Vickers brought the Challenger tank into Alvis portfolio as well as Vickers successful military bridging division and its South African subsidiary Vickers OMC BAE takeover edit In 2004 the board of Alvis approved a 309m takeover bid by the American defence company General Dynamics Within three months BAE Systems which already had a 29 stake in the company outbid General Dynamics by offering 355m The action was seen as a defence of the home market from a foreign rival David Mulholland of Jane s Defence Weekly said I don t believe BAE expects to make money from this deal characterising the purchase as strategic rather than commercial The bid was accepted by the majority of shareholders 3 In September 2004 BAE announced the creation of BAE Systems Land Systems a new company bringing together the BAE subsidiaries BAE Systems RO Defence and Alvis Vickers Alvis Vickers becameBAE Systems Land Systems Weapons amp Vehicles Limited a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land Systems In 2005 the acquisition of United Defense led to the creation of BAE Systems Land amp Armaments See also editAlvis Car and Engineering CompanyReferences edit BAE Systems completes purchase of GKN s 29 stake in Alvis BAE Systems plc 2 September 2003 Archived from the original on 19 May 2006 Retrieved 21 June 2006 Press release Vickers taken over by Alvis BBC News 1 October 2002 BAE triumphs in tank firm battle BBC News 4 June 2004 External links editEarley Engineering Alvis Sales and Restoration Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alvis plc amp oldid 1171381308, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
