WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee has knowledgeable Lockheed Martin its deliberate $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne will increase antitrust issues, the corporate mentioned Tuesday.
The FTC knowledgeable Lockheed “its issues concerning the transaction can’t be addressed adequately by the phrases of a consent order,” the corporate mentioned in quarterly earnings paperwork. Lockheed foresees a federal lawsuit to dam the transaction, forcing the corporate to both battle or abandon the merger deal.
Critics have argued the deal would permit Lockheed, the nation’s largest protection contractor, to soak up a key provider of its solid-fuel rocket motors, stifling competitors within the missile market.
Lockheed President and Chief Govt Officer Jim Taiclet introduced the merger in December 2020, saying it might assist Lockheed stay a pacesetter in house and hypersonic know-how.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has urged regulators to scrutinize the transaction. Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Applied sciences got here out publicly in opposition to the deal, elevating issues it might drive the corporate to cope with a competitor for strong rocket motors.
Proponents on Capitol Hill argued the proposed merger would restore aggressive stability, following Northrop Grumman’s 2018 acquisition of one other main rocket propulsion agency, Orbital ATK.
Joe Gould is senior Pentagon reporter for Protection Information, overlaying the intersection of nationwide safety coverage, politics and the protection trade.