Lockheed Martin and United Technologies are expected to announce the deal on Monday, according to Reuters, which cited two sources (who weren’t authorized to speak publicly) in its report.
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Together those programs account for about $6 billion in estimated 2015 sales, Lockheed said in a statement.
According to according to several sources with knowledge of the negotiations, Textron had also put in a bid for Sikorsky, but moved on when the price tag approached $8 billion.
The US Department of Defense said last week that it would evaluate any sale of Sikorsky Aircraft, the American military’s largest helicopter supplier, and that it was important to maintain competition in the sector.
Sikorsky is the manufacturer of the Black Hawk helicopter and presidential Marine One helicopter.
Industry executives do not expect antitrust objections since Lockheed does not build helicopters, but said U.S. officials could ask for certain written assurances given Lockheed’s expanded scale.
“As the sale of Sikorksy becomes final, I will work closely with Sikorsky eadership to protect those jobs and enure that Sikorksy helicoputers continue to be made right here in Connecitcut by our skilled and talented workforce”, Murphy said.
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Combined with Sikorsky, Lockheed will dwarf the defense businesses of its nearest competitors, Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman Corp, although the company is seeking to shed some of its lower-margin services businesses, sources said. Of note, Sikorsky represented close to $7.5 billion out of UTC revenues of $65 billion in 2014. In June, the unit announced 1,400 job cuts and said it would consolidate facilities.
