Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. is being acquired by Lockheed Martin in a $5 billion deal.
Lockheed Martin is purchasing Aerojet Rockdyne in an all-cash transaction, paying $56 per share of Aerojet Rocketdyne stock. This represents a 33 percent premium of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s closing stock value on Dec. 18, 2020.
“We are pleased to bring together our complementary companies in a transformative transaction that will provide premium cash value for our stockholders and tremendous benefits for our employees, customers and partners,” Aerojet Rockdyne president and CEO Eileen P. Drake said in a statement. “Joining Lockheed Martin is a testament to the world-class organization and team we’ve built and represents a natural next phase of our evolution. As part of Lockheed Martin, we will bring our advanced technologies together with their substantial expertise and resources to accelerate our shared purpose: enabling the defense of our nation and space exploration. On behalf of the Aerojet Rocketdyne Board and management team, I’d like to thank all of our employees for their unwavering dedication and focus in helping us achieve this great milestone.”
This acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2021 pending regulatory and stockholder approvals.
Both Aerojet Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin have a presence in Arkansas, centered around Camden. Aerojet Rocketdyne develops large rocket motors and propulsion systems, and the company opened a new large solid rocket motor manufacturing facility in Camden in October 2020. Lockheed Martin’s Camden facility serves as a “manufacturing, final assembly, test and storage operation for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) programs,” according to its website. Lockheed Martin also manufactures Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System elements in Camden.
It is unclear what impact this acquisition will have on the Arkansas facilities.
According to Aerojet Rocketdyne, it has delivered 5,000 Stinger missile solid rocket flight motors from its Camden facility in 2020. In total, the company reports having delivered 60,000 motor sets for the Stinger missile program over the past 30 years.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s stock shot up on Monday morning by more than 24 percent, increasing to a value of $52.29 per share as of 12:47 p.m. The stock reached a high of $53.10 per share before dipping down to the $52 range.
READ MORE: Aerojet Rocketdyne Opens New Rocket Motor Manufacturing Facility
