Northrop Grumman gets Justice OK to buy TRW

Northrop Grumman Corp. reached an agreement with the Justice Department on the terms of a consent decree that should allow the company to soon close its $7.8 billion acquisition of TRW Inc., Northrop Grumman announced Dec. 10.

The purchase of TRW is to be completed after shareholders of both companies approve the transaction at meetings Dec. 11, bringing to a close Northrop Grumman's 10-month pursuit of the Cleveland company.

Key provisions of the consent decree are intended to assure that the merger will not impede fair and open competition related to certain electronic satellite payloads, Northrop Grumman officials said. The consent decree does not require the divestiture of any businesses and will permit Northrop Grumman to operate its businesses and those of TRW as planned.

The European Union antitrust authority approved the acquisition Oct. 16.

With this acquisition, Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman will boost its revenue from $17 billion to between $25 billion and $26 billion. The combined companies will have more than 120,000, said company spokesman Randy Belote.