US: BAE Systems to buy Collins’ GPS business for $1.9B

UK defense group BAE Systems is paying US$1.93 billion in cash for the military global positioning business of US engineer Collins Aerospace, in its biggest acquisition in more than a decade, reported Reuters. 

The GPS business makes military receiver systems and its products are used on hundreds of US defence platforms, including the two highest-volume weapons programs for the US Air-Force, BAE stated on Monday, January 20.

It has come up for sale following the US$120 billion merger last year of Raytheon and United Technologies, with regulators requiring the two groups to divest assets. BAE is also buying Raytheon’s airborne tactical radio unit for US$275 million. 

The two acquisitions will boost BAE’s position as an important supplier to the US military, and mark the first big strategic deals under its chief executive Charles Woodburn since he took over in 2017. They will significantly strengthen the group’s electronics systems business, a largely US-based division, in a high-growth sector that Mr Woodburn has highlighted as a strategic priority.

Full Content: Financial Times

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