General Dynamics [GD] and CSRA, Inc. [CSRA] on Wednesday said that GD’s pending acquisition of CSRA has cleared a federal regulatory milestone.iStock Computer

In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, both companies said the waiting period for the Hart Scott Rodino anti-trust review of the acquisition has expired, satisfying the regulatory review.

GD in February announced it plans to acquire CSRA for $9.6 billion, a deal that will make its GD Information Technology segment the second largest provider of federal information technology services behind Leidos [LDOS].

The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of this year.