Aerospace firm Umeco – which supplies components for Formula One racing cars – is set to be taken over by a chemicals-maker in a £274 million deal.

The board of Warwickshire-based Umeco (UMC) has advised shareholders to accept a 550p per share offer from Cytec Industries, which wants to create an advanced composites business.

The offer represents a premium of about 46 per cent to Umeco stock’s closing price on Wednesday, and send the firm’s shares soaring by as much as 48 per cent in early trading.

However, fears have arisen about the future of Umeco’s UK head office, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, but analysts say US-based Hexcel Corp could also make an offer.

The Umeco board said in a statement: “The board of Umeco, which has been so advised by Rothschild and Investec, considers the terms of the acquisition to be fair and reasonable.”

Umeco, which counts Boeing, Airbus and BAE Systems among its customers, declined to comment beyond its statement.

Cytec said the acquisition, expected to close in the third quarter, would immediately add to its earnings. It would be financed using cash on hand, the company said in a statement.

“(The acquisition) greatly improves our composite presence in the industrial sector,” Cytec’s chief executive Shane Fleming said. “The acquisition also enhances our near-term composite capacity while we complete capital investments.”

“If there were to be a counter bid, Hexcel would be the likeliest candidate, but in our view this is likely to prove a knockout bid,” N+1 Brewin analysts James Tetley and Jon Lienard said in a client note.