- January 26, 2022
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Economy
US antitrust regulators have sued to block a proposed acquisition by Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defence contractor, of missile propulsion supplier Aerojet Rocketdyne in their first litigation challenging a defence merger in decades.
The US Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday said the $4.4bn tie-up would eliminate the last independent US supplier of missile propulsion systems. If the transaction goes ahead, Lockheed would “harm rival defense contractors and further consolidate multiple markets critical to national security and defense,” the FTC said in a statement.
Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s competition bureau, said: “Lockheed is one of a few missile middlemen the US military relies on to supply vital weapons that keep our country safe . . . Without competitive pressure, Lockheed can jack up the price the US government has to pay, while delivering lower quality and less innovation.”
“We cannot afford to allow…
