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US Antitrust Watchdog Extends Review Of Lockheed-Aerojet Deal

By  |  February 21, 2021

US antitrust regulators have extended their probe into Lockheed Martin’s proposed US$4.4 billion purchase of rocket manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne so that the two companies can provide more information to the government, the companies announced Friday, February 19.

The customary 60-day antitrust review process for the deal, announced in December, was supposed to end at midnight Thursday, but it will last 30 days longer, the companies stated.

“We are working cooperatively with the Federal Trade Commission as it conducts its review of the transaction and we continue to expect to complete the acquisition in the second half of 2021,” Lockheed said in a statement.

The announcement comes after Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes said Wednesday that his company would challenge the deal with regulators. The concern is that Lockheed, a top competitor, would absorb a key supplier of its solid-fuel rocket motors, stifling completion in the missile market.

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