© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of L3Harris is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
By David Carnevali and Mike Stone
(Reuters) – L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:) Inc is nearing a $4.7 billion deal to acquire U.S. rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings (NYSE:) Inc, 10 months after the latter’s $4.4 billion sale to Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:) fell through, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Lockheed Martin walked away from its deal with Aerojet in February after antitrust regulators sued to block it, arguing that allowing the El Segundo, California-based company to be taken over by its biggest customer would have severely disadvantaged Lockheed Martin’s rivals.
L3Harris is a defense contractor that is mostly a competitor rather than a customer of Aerojet. Aerojet’s solid fuel rocket motors and other propulsion systems would help L3Harris expand its space defense systems and precision munitions businesses.
L3Harris outbid General Electric (NYSE:) Co in the final stages of a sale process for Aerojet with a $58-per-share offer, one of the sources said. An agreement could be announced as early as Monday, the sources added.
The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Spokespeople for Aerojet, L3Harris and General Electric did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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