The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday said it has reached an agreement to allow United Technologies Corp. and Massachusetts defense giant Raytheon to complete their planned $180-billion mega-merger as long as they make certain divestitures.
The DOJ said that without the selloffs, the deal would substantially curb competition for a number of military products, including radio navigation units, GPS systems and electro-optical/infrared reconnaissance satellites.
The DOJ’s antitrust division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia laying out its case for why the merger would create some anti-competitive concerns, as well as a proposed settlement in order to resolve them.
The settlement requires the companies to sell off Raytheon’s military airborne radios business and UTC’s military GPS and large space-based optical systems businesses.
DOJ said UTC and Raytheon’s compliance with the order would allow them to proceed with the deal.
UTC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
UTC and Raytheon announced last June that they agreed to combine in an all-stock deal they termed a “merger of equals.”Â
The newly combined company will be based in the Boston area, costing Connecticut one of its most prized corporate headquarters.
UTC had about 19,000 Connecticut employees as of September, according to HBJ’s Book of Lists. Worldwide, the company had more than 243,000 employees as of the end of 2019.
A longtime industrial conglomerate, UTC has made a number of deals in recent years that have dramatically changed its business. Most recently, UTC’s board of directors on March 13  approved the spinoffs of Farmington-based Otis Elevator and the Florida-based Carrier Corp., which will now operate as  two independent companies.
Last June, Gov. Ned Lamont said Otis Elevator’s Farmington headquarters will remain in-state after the spinoff.
UTC is now largely focused on the aerospace industry. It owns jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney as well as Collins Aerospace. Raytheon is rooted in defense, and produces missile defense systems and cybersecurity solutions. The companies supply the likes of Airbus and Boeing.
The combined company will be named Raytheon Technologies Corp.
