Shareholders approve Harris-L3 merger

Shareholders of Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies respectively voted to approve the merger of both companies into what will become the sixth-largest defense contractor.

Harris and L3 continue to expect closure in the middle of this calendar year pending antitrust regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, the companies said Tuesday.

Those conditions include the sale of a night vision technology business, which Harris announced in January they were looking to do in order to gain regulatory clearance.

Night vision is apparently the one area of overlap between both companies in the context of an eventual $16 billion “sixth prime” in the defense industry.

Harris’ night vision business posts around $150 million-$160 million in annual sales and L3’s similar unit is around a $300 million-revenue entity, analysts at investment bank Cowen & Company wrote in October.

Both companies may also have to adjust how they gain clearance from the U.K. government depending on how the ongoing “Brexit” process shakes out. If the U.K. leaves the European Union with few or no agreements between them, then the companies would need to make a separate filing to the U.K. government for approval.

On the heels of the vote announcement, shares in Harris were up 1.7 percent and L3's stock was up 1.9 percent.