Piaggio Aerospace announced on 19 January that it was re-opening the sale process to acquire the company. (Piaggio Aerospace/Paul Cordwell)

Piaggio Aerospace announced on 19 January that it has formally restarted the process for finding a new owner following the collapse of a potential bid last year.

The company's Extraordinary Commissioner, Vincenzo Nicastro, announced the relaunching of the sale, with formal advertisements being placed in a number of financial news outlets.

UK-based defence contractor QinetiQ Group has named Northrop Grumman executive Shawn Purvis as president and CEO of its US business, according to a 17 January announcement.

Purvis has been president of Northrop Grumman's Enterprise Services organisation for the past four years, overseeing the US defence contractor's information systems. At QinetiQ US, she will replace Mary Williams, whose decision to step down was revealed in October 2021.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has completed its assessment of whether Cobham Group's proposed acquisition of Ultra Electronics raises national security concerns, the CMA announced on 18 January.

The report, which has not been publicly released, is in the hands of UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who requested the review in August 2021. Kwarteng will “carefully consider” the document before deciding on next steps, including whether the acquisition should receive further scrutiny or be approved with conditions, according to a government spokesperson.