Lockheed Martin to buy Sikorsky Aircraft
Lockheed Martin (LMT) announced Monday that it plans to buy Sikorsky Aircraft, saying that its military and commercial rotary wing aircraft will mesh well with the products and systems that Lockheed provides.
Lockheed says it now has a definitive agreement to purchase Sikorsky for $9 billion, though tax benefits will bring the actual price down to roughly $7.1 billion.
"Sikorsky is a natural fit for Lockheed Martin and complements our broad portfolio of world-class aerospace and defense products and technologies," Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin's chairman, president and CEO said in a statement. "I'm confident this acquisition will help us extend our core business into the growing areas of helicopter production and sustainment.''
The deal must get the green light from regulators, but Lockheed Martin says that the acquisition should close by the end of this year or start of 2016. Despite the purchase, Lockheed Martin says that it still plans to proceed with giving cash back to shareholders in the form of dividends, and paring outstanding shares to less than 300 million over the next two years.