Ultra clears US foreign investment review over Sparton deal

British defense contractor Ultra Electronics has cleared a key regulatory hurdle for its acquisition of Sparton Corp. in the wake of delays over the deal’s overall timeline for closure.

Sparton said Tuesday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. reviewed the transaction and determined there are no unresolved national security concerns related to the combination.

Ultra and Sparton still require approval from the U.S. Justice Department for their deal and earlier this month announced they are delaying the expected closure date. The companies plan to submit the required paperwork to DOJ by Nov. 30 and a decision from the agency is anticipated by the end of March 2018.

The deal comes in a challenging time for Ultra Electronics as it is forecasting revenue and profit declines for this year on funding declines in U.K. defense programs. Ultra is also searching for a new CEO as former chief executive Rakesh Sharma left the company earlier this month.