With sparse few shopping days left in 2020, Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE: LMT) made its big purchase of the year, acquiring Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AJRD) in a deal worth $4.4 billion.
The move, unveiled Sunday, provides the Bethesda defense giant an established player in the solid rocket propulsion market, which is critical for two business sectors that have commanded more attention in recent years: space and missiles.
The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2021. Its value is shy of the $7.8 billion that rival Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE: NOC) paid for Dulles-based Orbital ATK Inc. in 2017, but it provides Lockheed with a comparable company that amassed $2 billion in revenue in 2019 and has deep ties to NASA on the cusp of the agency’s new lunar missions.
It also bolsters the Lockheed’s $10 billion missiles and fire control business, as well as its developing hypersonic weapons programs in its space business segment.
“This transaction enhances…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
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