US Senator Warren, others warn against L3Harris plan to buy Aerojet

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings

11/07/2023 10:30

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth
Warren, a Democrat and frequent merger critic, joined three
other lawmakers on Tuesday to urge the Defense Department to
thoroughly review defense contractor L3Harris Technologies'
 LHX.N  $4.7 billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings
 AJRD.N .
    The Defense Department is influential with the antitrust
agencies on decisions about approving deals that touch on
military issues, and often take too soft an approach, Warren and
the other lawmakers wrote.
    "Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing are all dependent on
products that only Aerojet is able to produce, and their
operations could be hamstrung by its acquisition," they wrote.
    The letter was sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and
William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and
sustainment.
    In addition to Warren, the letter was signed by
Representatives Chris Deluzio, John Garamendi and Mark Pocan.
All are Democrats.
    The lawmakers said the department had previously conducted
what the letter called "flawed merger reviews."
    With the Ukraine war driving up demand for missiles and
defense systems, Aerojet became an attractive takeover target. 
L3Harris was formed by the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris
Corp in 2019.
    The United States has assisted Ukraine with billions of
dollars in military aid, including missiles and air defense
systems.
    Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket
propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and
commercial applications. 
    Another customer is the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), one of Aerojet's main customers, which is
pursuing moon and deep space missions.

 (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((Diane.Bartz@thomsonreuters.com;))