Proposed UTC-Raytheon Merger Gets DOJ Antitrust Clearance With Divestiture Requirement

The Department of Justice has given United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) an antitrust approval to proceed with their proposed merger through an all-stock transaction, Reuters reported Friday.

UTC and Raytheon announced their all-stock merger in June 2019 and expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2020.

A DOJ notice posted Thursday says the approval comes with a proposed settlement that requires both companies to divest to a U.S. approved-buyer Raytheon’s airborne tactical radios business and UTC’s military GPS business and its large space-based optical systems unit to maintain competition.

“Today’s settlement protects the American taxpayer by preserving competition that leads to lower costs and higher innovation in critical military and defense products,” said Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general at DOJ’s antitrust division.

BAE Systems’ U.S. subsidiary signed an agreement in January to acquire UTC’s military GPS business for $1.925B in cash and Raytheon’s airborne tactical radios business for $275M in cash.

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