Thales, the French defence electronics group, has bypassed bankers in the sale of its UK acoustics subsidiary, which makes military headsets, to JF Lehman & Company, a private equity group founded by a former secretary of the US Navy.

Thales Acoustics, based in Harrow, north London, employs about 200 people. It was part of Racal Electronics, the UK company acquired in 2000 by the then Thomson CSF, just before the entire group was renamed Thales. Lehman will rename the subsidiary Racal Acoustics.