L3Harris Technologies [LHX] on Monday said it has agreed to sell its Military Training business and Combat Propulsion Systems business to Canada’s CAE and Germany’s
RENK AG, respectively, for a combined $1.5 billion, part of the company’s ongoing divestiture of non-core businesses.
CAE will pay nearly $1.1 billion in cash for the Military Training business, which generated about $500 million in sales for L3Harris in 2020. CAE said the acquisition will diversity its training and simulation work in the air domain, complementing its land and naval training solutions.
The Military Training business includes three units: Link Simulation & Training, which provides military training solutions in the U.S.; Doss Aviation, which provides initial flight training to the U.S. Air Force; and AMI, a designer and manufacturer of simulator hardware. The business provides training solutions for fighter and bomber aircraft, Army helicopters, submarines and unmanned aircraft systems.
“The proposed acquisition represents a significant value creation opportunity for all CAE stakeholders,” Mark Parent, CAE’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “It accelerates our growth strategy in defense and security and is highly complementary to our core military training business, broadening our position in the United States. “We are adding new customers, experience on new platforms and building our depth of expertise to address all domains—air, land, sea, space and cyber—as well as expanding into adjacent markets such as mission and operations support.”
The Military Training business includes a “significant backlog and position on key programs” that include the Air Force’s Simulators Common Architecture Requirements and Standards program, the F-16 Simulators Training program, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, the B-2 bomber training system, and the Navy//Marine Corps F/A-18 aircrew training systems, CAE said.
CAE said that cost saving synergies related to the acquisition will range between $28 million to $35 million annually by the end of the second year of the deal. The company expects the acquisition to add low-teen percentages to earnings per share in the first year after closing, including cost synergies.
RENK is buying the Combat Propulsion Systems and related Germany-based Magnet Motor business for $400 million in cash. The businesses have annual sales of about $230 million.
The propulsion systems business supplies engines and transmission to U.S. and international customers, with primary customers being the Army—including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle—Singapore and South Korea. The business has 350 employees.
Magnet Motor designs and develops electric power supplies and hybrid drive systems for military applications and is already working with RENK on strategic programs to provide the next generation of hybrid drive solutions.
“We are pleased that RENK will gain a strong presence in the U.S. armored vehicle market, a market with sales prospects of around $10 billion annually,” Florian Hofbauer, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “Our strategic acquisition of CPS ideally positions us for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle programs.”
L3Harris said it will use the proceeds from the pending sales to repurchase its stock. Both deals are expected to close in the second half of 2021 subject to regulatory approvals.
L3Harris is in the process of divesting businesses that account for between 8 and 10 percent of the company’s revenue. Excluding the deals with CAE and RENK, L-3Harris has divested or announced plans to divest businesses with $1.4 billion in sales. Once the transactions with CAE and RENK go through, that will put divestitures at the low end of L3Harris’ plan, requiring about $400 million more in sales to be divested if the company is to reach the high-end of the range.
William Brown, chairman and CEO of L3Harris, said in a statement that “our portfolio shaping process is ongoing,” indicating that there are more deals to come.
During the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in January, Brown told investors that L3Harris is focusing on strategy, technology-based business areas.
L3Harris’ financial advisers on the deals are Morgan Stanley & Co. for the Military Training business and Moelis & Company for Combat Propulsion Systems. Goldman Sachs & Co. is CAE’s financial adviser.