THE DAILY FED
Lockheed to Buy Northrop
Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest federal contractor, announced Thursday that it plans to buy Northrop Grumman Corp., the eighth-largest contractor, in an $11.6 billion deal.
The merger, which must be approved by federal regulators and stockholders of both companies, would create a firm with revenues of $37 billion and 230,000 employees.
Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-16 jet fighter and the Trident missile will add Northrop Grumman's B-2 stealth bomber and MX missile system to its repertoire of defense weapons. The two companies have already collaborated on the Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 fighter programs.
Company executives said the merger will allow for increased efficiency and competitiveness.
"As our industry becomes increasingly global, we must constantly improve efficiencies to compete in the 21st century worldwide marketplace," Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine told the Associated Press.
The deal is the latest in a series of defense mergers prompted by cutbacks in the military.
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