US: Pentagon has ‘no major concerns’ with Raytheon-UTC merger

In a press briefing on Monday, August 26, the Department of Defence (DOD) signalled it will not challenge a planned merger between Raytheon and United Technologies (UTC).

When asked about the merger, DOD undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, Ellen Lord, said, “We are working through that process right now, and what we would typically do, would put consent orders in and so forth if we have concerns. There are no major concerns that I know of right now.”

The planned company would generate around US$74 billion in sales, stated Raytheon when it announced the plans in June 2019. Raytheon and UTC are set to complete the merger by the first half of 2020 if the US Government does not block the plans.

Lord explained the DoD’s role in mergers saying, “So we’ve established a process now, when we get a call or we hear in the media that a merger or acquisition is taking place, we go out with a request to all of the components and services about what business they have with each of the two companies and whether they see any problems with limiting competition where there’s just two of them.”

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