On Friday 13 March, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of American company Raytheon by United Technologies Corporation (UTC), another American company. The approval is conditional on the divestment of entire businesses.
The transaction combines UTC's aerospace businesses with Raytheon's defence business. Both companies are global suppliers of military systems and equipment to aircraft and guided munitions manufacturers, as well as to armed forces.
The Commission had concerns that the transaction, as originally notified, would reduce competition in the markets for military GPS receivers and military airborne radios.
To address the Commission's concerns, UTC and Raytheon offered to divest the following businesses: - UTC's entire military GPS receiver and anti-jamming business, located in Cedar Rapids and Coralville, Iowa (USA); - Raytheon's entire military airborne radios business, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana (USA).
UTC and Raytheon intend to sell both businesses to BAE Systems, the UK-based defence and aerospace company.
The Commission concluded that the proposed remedies remove the entire horizontal overlap between UTC and Raytheon in both military GPS receivers and military airborne radios globally. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)