Lockheed Martin’s logo is displayed at the Eurosatory international land and air-land defense and security trade fair in Villepinte, a northern suburb of Paris, on June 13, 2022. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images
Lockheed Martin on July 6 announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire underwater warfare and anti-submarine firm Ultra Maritime for $3.45 billion in a bid to strengthen the defense contractor’s allied naval warfare capabilities.
Ultra Maritime, owned since 2022 by Cobham Ultra, a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity investor Advent, makes a wide range of anti-submarine warfare technologies, including sonobuoys, radar solutions, sonar technologies, torpedo defense systems, and autonomous artificial intelligence maritime sensing platforms for the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and other allied navies in more than 30 countries.
Ultra Maritime’s defense systems can be deployed by air, on the ocean surface, or underwater. Its sonobuoys are dropped from planes to scout for submarines, and its hull-mounted sonar and towed acoustic arrays can be towed behind ships to track submarines and incoming enemy torpedoes. In February, Ultra Maritime was awarded a development contract by the U.S. Navy to produce next-generation acoustical countermeasure systems to better protect submarines from undersea threats.
Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said the acquisition complements and expands its capabilities to deliver naval sonar warfare systems and next-generation maritime platforms.
“Undersea superiority belongs to those who move fastest and work together best,” said Stephanie C. Hill, president of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems.
“By joining forces with Ultra Maritime, we’re accelerating our commitment to deliver the most advanced undersea and anti-submarine warfare capabilities to our U.S. and allied partners across the globe.”
In a separate news release, Advent said it had invested more than $170 million in Ultra Maritime over the past three years to advance the defense specialist’s product development and technology roadmap and expand its manufacturing capabilities, leading to a 17 percent jump in revenue.
Ultra Maritime employs about 2,000 people at locations in the United States, the UK, Australia, and Canada. The company’s roots date back to a small electronics factory established in London in 1920. In the early 1960s, Ultra began making sonobuoys, and in 1996, Ultra Electronics Holdings debuted on the London Stock Exchange, where it remained until the acquisition by Cobham Ultra.
Ultra Maritime will be folded into Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems business when the transaction closes. Citi is serving as Lockheed Martin’s financial adviser, the law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwalader is serving as legal counsel, and Fried Frank is serving as tax counsel. No other transaction details were provided.
