L3Harris says deal for Aerojet gets go-ahead from U.S. regulator

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings

26/07/2023 23:11

July 26 (Reuters) - Aerospace and defense company
L3Harris Technologies  LHX.N  on Wednesday said it was informed
that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission would not block its $4.7
billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne  AJRD.N .
    The company also raised its full-year forecasts for revenue
and profit as the Ukraine war drives up demand for defense
equipment. 
    U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and some other lawmakers had
urged the Defense Department to thoroughly review the proposed
deal, saying it could impact the operations of Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon and Boeing - all of which depend on products that only
Aerojet is able to produce. 
        Aerojet makes liquid and solid rocket propulsion and
hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and commercial
applications.
  
        L3Harris, which announced it would buy Aerojet in
December, said it expects to close the deal on or about July 28.
The FTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
        With the Ukraine war driving up demand for missiles and
defense systems, Aerojet became an attractive takeover target. 
        In 2022, Lockheed Martin  LMT.N  walked away from its
deal with Aerojet after antitrust regulators sued to block it on
competition concerns.  
    On Wednesday, L3Harris raised its annual revenue forecast to
between $18 billion and $18.3 billion, from $17.4 billion to
$17.8 billion estimated earlier.
    L3Harris now expects profit to be between $12.15 and $12.55
per share, from $12 to $12.50 estimated earlier.     
    Formed by the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corp in
2019, the defense contractor's customers include the Pentagon,
Boeing  BA.N , Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp  RTX.N . 

 (Reporting by Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
 ((pratyush.thakur@thomsonreuters.com;))