ArmorGroup, the private security company, became another casualty of the war in Iraq as it succumbed yesterday to a £43 million bid from rival G4S.
The company, which provides embassy and convoy security, has seen profits decline for the past three years as its business in Iraq has dropped off.
G4S, formerly Group 4, said that it would buy Armor for 80p per share, down from a peak of 263p in 2005. Armor’s shares gained 23p to 76p.
Armor was one of the many private security companies that took advantage of a boom in work during the early stages of the Iraq occupation. British and American armed forces outsourced many activities to enable them to fight in Iraq with smaller forces. Private security companies typically