TRW, Northrop sign agreement

TRW Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp. have signed a confidentiality agreement that will give Northrop Grumman access to non-public financial information from TRW.

Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles and TRW of Cleveland have publicly battled since February when Northrop Grumman made an offer to purchase TRW. TRW has insisted that Northrop's offer of $53 per share, plus assumption of the company's $5.5 billion debt load, is too low.

Northrop Grumman has accused TRW of trying to impose onerous restrictions on the sharing of information, and using Ohio's financial laws to block the interests of its own shareholders.

TRW termed the signing of the confidentiality agreement a "part of its review of strategic alternatives," noting that it has signed similar agreements with other interested companies.