Rocket maker Aerojet solicits acquisition offers-sources

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings

25/10/2022 13:57

By David  Carnevali
       NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings
Inc  AJRD.N , the U.S. rocket maker whose $4.4 billion sale to
Lockheed Martin Corp  LMT.N  was blocked by antitrust regulators
in February, is soliciting offers from potential suitors,
including private equity firms, according to people familiar
with the matter.
    Aerojet is working with advisers on an auction process and
asked for indications of acquisition interest earlier this
month, the sources said. The company, which has a market value
of $3.6 billion, may decide not to sell itself if it does not
attract an offer it deems attractive, the sources added.
    They requested not to be identified because the matter is
confidential. An Aerojet spokesperson declined to comment.
    Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket
propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and
commercial applications. Its customers include the Pentagon,
NASA, Boeing  BA.N , Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies
Corp  RTX.N .
    The El Segundo, California-based company prevailed in a
battle for control of its board against its former executive
chairman Warren Lichtenstein last summer but remains under
pressure to boost its performance. Activist hedge fund Elliott
Investment Management disclosed it had accumulated a 3.7% stake
in Aerojet in August. 
 (Reporting by David Carnevali in New York
Addditional reporting by Svea-Herbst Bayliss in Rhode Island
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
 ((David.Carnevali@thomsonreuters.com;))