Private markets investment firm CVC has agreed to acquire Smiths Detection from Smiths Group in a transaction valued at £2bn ($2.65bn).
Smiths Detection, headquartered in the UK, provides threat-detection and security-screening technologies for airports and other critical infrastructure.
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It supplies screening technology to 47 of the world’s top 50 airports.
Smiths Detection’s product portfolio also covers urban security for public spaces and buildings, as well as ports and borders, and includes chemical threat identification capabilities for defence applications.
The business employs 3,400 people worldwide, including more than 1,100 field service engineers and over 500 research and development professionals.
It operates from facilities across Europe, the US, and Asia.
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By GlobalDataThe deal, which is conditional on customary regulatory approvals, is anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2026.
CVC will fund the acquisition through its Capital Partners IX fund.
Barclays acted as financial adviser and Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel for CVC.
CVC aviation, defence and space sectors private equity activities head and partner James Mahoney said: “We are excited to partner with Jérôme de Chassey and his team. Smiths Detection’s strong market positions, anchored by its global leadership in aviation, create a compelling platform for long-term value creation.”
The sale follows a strategy announced by Smiths Group on 31 January 2025 that aims to focus on its industrial engineering operations.
It had revealed plans to separate both Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect.
In October 2025, the company announced the sale of Smiths Interconnect to Molex Electronic Technologies Holdings.
With both transactions underway, Smiths Group indicated it is carrying out the portfolio changes outlined earlier in the year.
Smiths Group chief executive Roland Carter said: “Today we have reached another significant milestone for Smiths, with the agreement to sell Smiths Detection to CVC for an enterprise value of £2.0bn.
“This builds on our recently announced sale of Smiths Interconnect and demonstrates strong execution against the strategic actions we set out in January centred on value creation.”
