EU Regulators Approve Northrop's Purchase of Litton

The European Union Commission announced March 23 it has approved Northrop Grumman Corp.'s purchase of Litton Industries Inc.

"To a large extent, the business of Northrop and Litton are complementary, and the overlaps between their activities are very limited," the commission said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.

Northrop Grumman, based in Los Angeles, announced Dec. 21, 2000, it had signed an agreement to purchase Litton of Woodland Hills, Calif. The acquisition is still awaiting approval from the U.S. government.

The company said it remains optimistic that the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review will conclude within the review period, which expires at midnight March 29.

Northrop Grumman officials are projecting 2001 revenue for the combined companies to reach $15 billion. With the addition of Litton's TASC and PRC divisions, Northrop Grumman's information technology business will grow from $1.5 billion in 2000 to about $2.9 billion. The company will become one of the top five systems integrators in the government IT market.