News Lockheed Martin acquires Aerojet Rocketdyne

[mahdavi3d]

techcrunch.com : Lockheed Martin acquires rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4B as space heats up​

Lockheed Martin (LM), the U.S.’s largest defence contractor, will acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR), a rocket engine and missile manufacturer, for $4.4 billion including debt and net cash, giving the company a larger stake in space and hypersonic technology. The move comes amid the context of increasing competition in the Space and Defence industries.

In a news release, the company said the proposed acquisition adds substantial expertise in propulsion to Lockheed Martin’s portfolio and that Aerojet Rocketdyne’s technologies were already “key components” of Lockheed’s supply chain. It already uses Aerojet Rocketdyne’s propulsion systems in its aeronautics, missiles and fire control offerings.

Aerojet Rocketdyne’s 2019 revenues were approximately $2 billion. The company, headquartered in El Segundo, California, has nearly 5,000 employees and was formed in 2013 when GenCorp’s Aerojet and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne were merged. The company produces solid rocket motors as well as tactical and strategic missiles for the Defense Department.
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[Notebook]

Nice description, "a rocket and missile manufacturer". Have they forgot where where they came from? Or even what a Dyne was...

 

[Urwumpe]

OK, that Aerojet got acquired is not THAT surprising. But I would not have expected LMM to be the buyer... Looks like ATK is in a worse financial position as expected. Boeing would have been out of the bid, since they already own PW.

 

[Sbb1413]

PW? What is it?

Also, I can't accept that a rocket engine manufacturer which had many contributions in rocketry for more than fifty years has been acquired by Lockheed Martin.

 

[Urwumpe]

PW? What is it?

Also, I can't accept that a rocket engine manufacturer which had many contributions in rocketry for more than fifty years has been acquired by Lockheed Martin.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which produces the RS-68 and the SSME.... which was sold to Aerojet to form Aerojet Rocketdyne, while I was not looking.

Excuse me, I was living in the past and did not fetch up with the latest mergers. So, there are four rocket engine producers in the USA left:

LMM, SpaceX, Blue Origin and ATK.

 

[mahdavi3d]

Lockheed Martin terminates agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne

Lockheed Martin terminates agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne

spacenews.com

CEO James Taiclet: 'We determined that in light of the FTC's actions, terminating the transaction is in the best interest of our stakeholders'

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin announced Feb. 13 it has decided to terminate a $4.4 billion deal to acquire rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne.


The decision comes less than three weeks after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block the acquisition. Lockheed Martin in December 2020 announced its intent to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne, the last independent U.S. supplier of missile propulsion systems.


The FTC last month voted 4-0 to to seek an injunction to block the transaction on antitrust grounds, arguing that the deal would give Lockheed the ability to “cut off other defense contractors from the critical components they need to build competing missiles.”


Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies power, propulsion and armament systems used in missiles made by Lockheed Martin and other defense prime contractors.


“We determined that in light of the FTC’s actions, terminating the transaction is in the best interest of our stakeholders,” Lockheed Martin’s president and CEO James Taiclet said in a statement.


He insisted that the deal would “would have benefitted the entire industry through greater efficiency, speed, and significant cost reductions for the U.S. government.”


In the complaint filed Jan. 25, the FTC said that “without competitive pressure, Lockheed can jack up the price the U.S. government has to pay, while delivering lower quality and less innovation. We cannot afford to allow further concentration in markets critical to our national security and defense.”


Analysts since the FTC announced its decision had predicted Lockheed Martin would abandon the merger agreement rather than fight the U.S. government in court.


Aerojet Rocketdyne in a statement Feb. 13 said the company is pressing forward as a independent company.


“We are poised to deliver substantial value to our shareholders driven by our continued leadership in key space exploration and defense growth markets, including by advancing hypersonics and strategic, tactical and missile defense systems,” Aerojet said. The company said it will reveal details about its financial performance and strategy Feb. 17 in its fourth-quarter earnings report.

 

[Sbb1413]

Excuse me, I was living in the past and did not fetch up with the latest mergers. So, there are four rocket engine producers in the USA left:

LMM, SpaceX, Blue Origin and ATK.

ATK is now part of Northrop Grumman, as the latter acquired Orbital ATK in 2018, itself was a merger of Orbital Sciences and ATK. This means, NASA's CRS contract originally given to Orbital Sciences is now fulfilled by Northrop Grumman. Similarly, the current manufacturer of SLS boosters is Northrop Grumman, despite its contract was given to ATK.