Breaking news
EU Commission approves Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky acquisition.
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World Defense & Security Industry News - Lockheed Martin
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| EU Commission approves Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky acquisition | |||
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The European Commission has cleared one of the biggest acquisition deals in the defence industry. Under the EU Merger Regulation, the EC has approved the acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft by Lockheed Martin. According to the statement, the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because there are no overlaps between the companies’ activities. The deal is expected to close by the end of October.
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 Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider during flight tests(Source: Sikorsky) |
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The Commission also assessed the possible effects on competition arising from the relationship between Lockheed's supply of mission systems for military helicopters, which can be used in the naval medium-lift military helicopters, which Sikorsky produces. However, the Commission found that the position of the two companies is not important enough on these markets to shut out competitors or customers. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
The sale of Sikorsky has been by the regulatory authorities of South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, the US authorities had not asked for any further information by the companies involved. Therefore, no further clearances will be required by the US regulatory bodies. United Technologies Corporation had decided to sell Sikorsky under a USD9 billion deal. UTC has decided to sell Sikorsky in order to allow both parts to focus on their core business. By the end of 2014, Sikorsky employed more than 15,000 people and posted net sales of USD7.5 billion. |
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