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☆ US Senator Warren, others warn against L3Harris plan to buy Aerojet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat and frequent merger critic, joined three other lawmakers on Tuesday to urge the Defense Department to thoroughly review defense contractor L3Harris Technologies' (LHX.N) $4.7 billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings (AJRD.N). The letter was sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. In addition to Warren, the letter was signed by Representatives Chris Deluzio, John Garamendi and Mark Pocan. With the Ukraine war driving up demand for missiles and defense systems, Aerojet became an attractive takeover target. Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and commercial applications.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Warren, Lockheed Martin, Lloyd Austin, William LaPlante, Chris Deluzio, John Garamendi, Mark Pocan, Aerojet, Diane Bartz, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Defense Department, L3Harris Technologies, Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, The Defense Department, Raytheon, Boeing, Defense, L3 Technologies, Harris Corp, United, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Blackstone Inc (BX.N) and Veritas Capital Fund Management LLC are competing against large defense companies to acquire the aerospace business of Ball Corp (BALL.N), according to people familiar with the matter. The unit, which accounted for 13% of Ball's consolidated net sales in 2022, provides aerospace and national defense hardware, such as sensors and antennas. In June, Ball said it was considering options for its aerospace unit, after Reuters reported on the sale process. Blackstone owns Arka Group, an aerospace and defense technologies firm whose clients include the U.S. military, while Veritas owns companies including CAES Space Systems, which is a supplier of advanced electronic systems for aerospace and defense. Ball could incur a hefty tax bill of over $1 billion if the aerospace unit is sold for $5 billion or more, according to analysts at Jefferies.

Persons: Ball, Blackstone, David Carnevali, Mike Stone, Daniel Wallis Organizations: YORK, Blackstone Inc, Veritas Capital Fund Management, Ball Corp, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Corp, Textron Inc, Reuters, Blackstone, Veritas, Arka Group, U.S ., CAES, Systems, Bae Systems, Textron, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Corp, Rocketdyne Holdings, L3Harris Technologies, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: New York, Washington

☆ Circor sticks with sale to KKR despite higher Arcline bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Aishwarya Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circor, an industrial machinery maker, said KKR had sweetened its all-cash deal from $49 to $51 per share in the wake of a rival bid of $52.65 per share in cash from an unidentified party. One of Fairbanks' subsidiaries is Hunt Valve, which competes with Circor in providing valve systems to the Navy. Arcline and KKR declined to comment. Circor said it rejected the higher offer because it concluded there was a risk of a protracted review by antitrust regulators that would jeopardize the deal. Circor shares ended at $51.49 on Tuesday, above the $51 per share deal clinched with KKR, indicating that some investors believed an even better deal was possible.

Persons: snubbing, Circor, Arcline, Gardner, Rand Inc's, Aishwarya Nair, David Carnevali, Vinay Dwivedi, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Leslie Adler Organizations: KKR, Co Inc, Arcline Investment Management, Fairbanks Morse Defense, U.S . Navy, Fairbanks, Hunt Valve, Circor, Navy, Representatives, Gardner Denver, Ingersoll, Lockheed Martin Corp, Rocketdyne Holdings, L3Harris Technologies, Thomson Locations: Arcline, U.S, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Biden wants $886 billion defense budget with eyes on Ukraine and future wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The total amount of the 2024 budget proposal is $28 billion more than last year's $858 billion. Congress has passed an annual defense budget for more than 60 years. Biden's budget request also speeds the Department of Defense's pace for buying the stealthy F-35 fighter jet to 83. The 2023 budget request asked for 61 F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin and Congress increased that number to 77. The budget would benefit the biggest U.S. defense contractors including Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N).

"It's a knife edge between whether we're going to teeter into a recession or have a soft landing. said Brown who also noted that moves may be exaggerated as many investors take vacation around the end-of-year holidays. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.80-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.63-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 5 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 456 new lows. On U.S. exchanges 11.07 billion shares changed hands, compared with the 11.59 billion average for the last 20 trading days.

[1/2] A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2022. "When people adjust their expectations after the Fed meeting, higher rates typically imply more compressed multiples for growth stocks." Further, hawkish messages delivered by three Fed officials including New York Fed President John Williams last week underscored the U.S. central bank's determination to do what it takes to ease price pressures. Still, money market participants are pricing in 61% chance of a 25 basis points rate hike in February to 4.5%-4.75%, with a terminal rate of 4.84% in May 2023. The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and 15 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and 335 new lows.

[1/2] A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2022. However, money market participants still place a 73.5% chance of a 25 basis points rate hike in February to 4.5%-4.75%, with a terminal rate of 4.84% in May 2023. ET, Dow e-minis were up 14 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 23 points, or 0.2%. Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) advanced 2.7% after Jefferies upgraded the biotechnology firm's stock to "buy" from "hold", citing cancer therapy opportunities. Reporting by Shubham Batra and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Defense Contractor L3Harris Plans to Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.7 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A deal is expected to face intense regulatory scrutiny at a time when Aerojet has also wrestled with production problems. Defense firm L3Harris Technologies Inc. on Sunday said it agreed to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. in a $4.7 billion deal that would cement L3Harris’s role as one of six prime defense contractors for the Pentagon. Aerojet is a major maker of engines used in missiles, such as the Javelin deployed in Ukraine. Its products also help power National Aeronautics and Space Administration rockets and U.S. military hypersonic systems designed to deter China’s military expansion.

☆ Defense firm L3Harris to buy Aerojet for $4.7 billion with eye on missile demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX.N) said on Sunday it would buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD.N) for $4.7 billion in an all-cash transaction, as it looks to tap into rising demand for missiles amid the Ukraine conflict. Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Defense firm L3Harris to buy Aerojet for $4.7 bln with eye on missile demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX.N) said on Sunday it would buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD.N) in a $4.7 billion all-cash transaction, as it looks to tap into rising demand for missiles amid the Ukraine conflict. Reuetrs had first reported on Saturday that L3Harris was nearing the deal to acquire U.S. rocket maker Aerojet. The deal, which is expected to be completed in 2023, would add on to L3Harris' Space & Airborne Systems unit, which makes electronic warfare equipment and avionics sensors. Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Aerojet makes the RS-25 engines for NASA's launch vehicle, as well as the RL10 engines that power launch vehicles made by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin.

[1/2] A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2022. "When people adjust their expectations after the Fed meeting, higher rates typically imply more compressed multiples for growth stocks." Further, hawkish messages delivered by three Fed officials including New York Fed President John Williams last week underscored the U.S. central bank's determination to do what it takes to ease price pressures. Still, money market participants are pricing in 65% chance of a 25 basis points rate hike in February to 4.5%-4.75%, with a terminal rate of 4.84% in May 2023. The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded two new highs and 59 new lows.

Dec 17 (Reuters) - L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX.N) is nearing a $4.7 billion deal to acquire U.S. rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD.N), 10 months after the latter's $4.4 billion sale to Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) fell through, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday. L3Harris is a defense contractor that is mostly a competitor rather than a customer of Aerojet. Aerojet's solid fuel rocket motors and other propulsion systems would help L3Harris expand its space defense systems and precision munitions businesses. Spokespeople for Aerojet, L3Harris and General Electric did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Its customers include the Pentagon, Boeing (BA.N), Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N).

Nov 30 (Reuters) - Industrial conglomerate General Electric Co (GE.N) and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX.N) are among those competing to acquire rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD.N), according to people familiar with the matter. Aircraft producer Textron Inc (TXT.N) and private equity firm Veritas Capital are also vying to acquire El Segundo, California-based Aerojet, which has a market value of about $4 billion, the sources said. Aerojet has been running a process to sell itself after its $4.4 billion sale to Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) was thwarted by antitrust regulators in February, Reuters has previously reported. Spokespeople for Aerojet, General Electric, Textron and Veritas Capital did not respond to requests for comment. Its customers include the Pentagon, Boeing (BA.N), Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N).

☆ 'Big Short' fund manager Burry buys another prison stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The move comes after fund manager Burry dumped a dozen positions in the second quarter, including Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O), and replaced them with a new stake in prison company Geo Group Inc (GEO.N). A regulatory filing on Monday showed he bought roughly 1.5 million additional shares in Geo Group in the third quarter. Burry also added $7.8 million stake in CoreCivic, the filing showed. Shares in Geo Group, CoreCivic and Aerojet are up year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500, which is down 16.3% on the year. Fund managers are not required to disclose short positions, which profit when a company's shares fall.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Rocket maker Aerojet solicits acquisition offers -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aerojet, which is providing propulsion engines for NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket, is working with advisers on an auction process and asked for indications of acquisition interest earlier this month, the sources said. Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Its customers include the Pentagon, Boeing (BA.N), Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N). Activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management disclosed it had accumulated a 3.7% stake in Aerojet in August. Aerojet Chief Executive Eileen Drake said in September that "low to mid-single-digit" sales growth was most probable for the company this year.

The spin-out structure would make it easier and faster for Kroger and Albertsons to divest stores if they cannot easily sell them outright, people familiar with the arrangement said. The companies may struggle to find many buyers because Albertsons' stores are unionized, making them less attractive to potential bidders such as private equity firms. Kroger and Albertsons are likely to shed their least profitable stores and keep the best ones to themselves, analysts said. That region contains the most store-overlap between Kroger and Albertsons and is where divestitures are most likely, according to analysts. They intend for the spun-off company to not carry any debt, the sources added.

☆ Stocks are giving some clues that there could be a Republican congressional sweep, Strategas says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

At the same time, odds for a Republican sweep on Nov. 8 have risen. Individual solar and other renewable names are also down sharply, like First Solar, which is in the Strategas Democratic portfolio. Clifton said his portfolios are pointing to a 60% chance of a Republican sweep, while betting markets are at 50/50. Among the holdings in the Republican portfolio are companies that would benefit from distribution and transportation of oil and gas, like Enterprise Products Partners. "The market is increasingly pricing in a Republican sweep.

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