Harris Corp. [HRS] and L3 Technologies
[LLL] on Friday said their merger into L3Harrris Technologies will close June 29, following Justice Department approval of the deal last week.
The companies first announced the deal in October 2018, saying it would create a $16 billion aerospace and defense company giving it scale to be more cost competitive and with a more comprehensive portfolio to expand its end-to-end capabilities, while remaining a platform-agnostic supplier and integrator.
Harris shareholders will own 54 percent of the new company and L3 shareholders 46 percent.
“Receiving these approvals marks the successful completion of a thorough regulatory review process, clearing the way for one of the largest mergers in defense industry history,” William Brown, chairman, president and CEO of Harris, said in a statement on June 21. Brown will be chairman and CEO of L3Harris for the next two years, and then transition to the role of executive chairman after that.
Chris Kubasik, chairman, president and CEO of L3, will serve as vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of L3Harris for the next two years before taking the helm of the company as CEO. Eventually, Kubasik will be chairman and CEO of the combined company.
“Today’s announcement positions us to close the merger and establish L3Harris as an agile aerospace and defense technology innovator that delivers value for all of our stakeholders,” Kubasik said in a statement.
L3Harris will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker symbol “LHX.”
U.S. regulators require Harris to divest its night vision business as a condition for allowing the deal to proceed. Harris has already agreed to sell the business to a U.S.-based division of Israel’s Elbit Systems [ESLT]. Harris and L3 said the divestiture is expected to be completed following the merger.