Alvis PLC was a British motor vehicle manufacturer. It was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the
Alvis division of the
nationalised
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...
vehicle manufacturer
British Leyland
British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...
in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc. Alvis acquired the armoured vehicle business of the Swedish engineering company
Hägglund & Söner in 1997 and the armoured vehicle business of
GKN in 1998.
Alvis acquired
Vickers Defence Systems from
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
in October 2002. It was in turn acquired by
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
in 2004 and became
BAE Systems Land Systems (Weapons & Vehicles), now part of the
BAE Systems Land & Armaments operating group.
History
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 the armoured vehicle business of Hägglund & Söner, 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
BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
in September 2003 for £73 million.
[. Press release]
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
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
for £16 million and merged it with its existing UK business to form Alvis Vickers.
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
In 2004, the board of Alvis approved a £309m takeover bid by the American defence company
General Dynamics. Within three months
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
, 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.
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.
See also
*
Alvis Car and Engineering Company
References
External links
Earley Engineering – Alvis Sales and Restoration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvis Plc
Military vehicle manufacturers
Former defence companies of the United Kingdom
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in London