UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma confirmed that Chinese-owned firm Gardner Aerospace has withdrawn its plans to acquire Impcross.

Based in the UK, Impcross is a privately owned engineering company involved in the manufacture of complex prismatic and rotating parts, aero assemblies and support processes.

Impcross’ majority sales are made to the commercial aerospace sector with some to the military aerospace sector.

The company is considered a ‘relevant enterprise’ as its activities comprise or include manufacturing restricted goods, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Gardner’s proposed plans to acquire Impcross drew a lot of concerns that led to the Secretary of State confirming intervention in the merger on national security grounds on 5 December 2019.

The Secretary of State holds right to intervene in mergers on public interest grounds relating to national security under the Enterprise Act 2002.

On 2 March, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) submitted a report to the Secretary of State on the deal.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said in a statement: “By accepting the undertakings, the public interest intervention has come to an end.

“The pre-emptive action order preventing the parties from taking any actions that might raise national security concerns also ceases to have any effect.”