Acquisition of Orbital ATK Approved, Company Renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems

Space.com ^ | June 10, 2018 09:00am ET | By Sandra Erwin

[BenLurkin]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced it has cleared Northrop Grumman's $7.8 billion purchase of defense and space contractor Orbital ATK.

Orbital ATK will become Northrop Grumman's fourth business sector, named Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. The other three are Aerospace Systems, Mission Systems and Technology Services. With the addition, Northrop Grumman's sales for 2018 should reach $30 billion. Blake Larson will serve as corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

As a condition for the approval of the merger, the company will have to supply solid rocket motors "on a non-discriminatory basis under specified circumstances," the FTC ruled.

Ensuring competition in the solid rocket motors industry is a key issue for the Defense Department because only two manufacturers remain in the business, Orbital ATK and Aerojet Rocketdyne....The FTC decision requires Northrop Grumman to separate its solid rocket motors business with a firewall so it can continue to support Boeing.

It will be up to the Defense Department to ensure compliance with the firewall mandate.

[VanShuyten]

Orbital has a big campus near us. I hope that acquisition doesn’t mean it will get shut down in spite of the “firewall”. I also hope they don’t rename the main road through the campus. It’s Warp Drive.

[BlackbirdSST]

Formerly Orbital Sciences, formerly Fairchild Space & Defense Corp in Germantown MD, or at least they used to have a nice campus there. A veritable blast from the past.

[AndyJackson]

Just the monopolistic military industrial complex cutting out competition.

[VanShuyten]

This campus is about 15 miles west of DC in Loudoun County, near the intersection of VA 7 and 28.

[Gene Eric]

Good on Grumman...