IQGeo Group has agreed to be bought by KKR for £333m
A major British satellite software company has been bought by American private equity, just a day after Jeremy Hunt said he wants to create a $1 trillion homegrown tech giant that can rival Microsoft or Google.
IQGeo Group, which helps telecoms and utilities companies provide maps, satellite imagery and GPS data, has agreed to be bought for £333 million by KKR, one of the world’s largest buyout firms and a Wall Street titan.
Shares rose 16.1 percent, but KKR said it believed private ownership “is necessary to support IQGeo’s next stage of growth.”
But the purchase is another example of a UK technology company being sold to foreign owners before reaching its full potential.
On Monday, the Chancellor rejected concerns about a series of takeover bids by UK companies saying this is “how capitalism works”.
Hunt said: “I would like to see a local company with a trillion-dollar market capitalization and a large global position.”
“It’s a big dream, but we can definitely achieve it.”