Raytheon completes $490M deal for communications provider

Raytheon Co. completed its purchase of Applied Signal Technology Inc. when the tender offer for all outstanding shares made through its wholly owned subsidiary RN Acquisition Co. expired at midnight, Friday, January 28, 2011, the company announced today.

Raytheon last month made a cash tender offer for $38 a share for AST stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $490 million.

Based on information provided by BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, approximately 12.4 million shares, representing approximately 87.8 percent of AST's outstanding shares, were validly tendered and not withdrawn in the offer, according to a Raytheon announcement today.

All shares have been accepted for payment in accordance with the terms of the tender offer, the announcement said.

AST specializes in broadband communications, signals intelligence, cybersecurity and sensor surveillance, with a common core competency in digital signal processing.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company has offices across the United States, including Arlington and Herndon, Va., and Annapolis Junction, Md.

Raytheon said it intends to exercise its “top-up” option and thereafter will own sufficient common stock of AST necessary to effect a “short-form” merger under California law, after which AST will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon.

Following the acquisition, AST will be integrated into Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) business and will be renamed Raytheon Applied Signal Technology Inc. Raytheon said it intends to complete the merger promptly at which time AST’s shares will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Raytheon, of Waltham, Mass., ranks No. 4 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.