The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission last week granted early termination of an anti-trust review period of Italian aerospace and defense company Finmeccanica‘s pending $4 billion acquisition of DRS Technologies [DRS].
Completion of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust review was one of the regulatory hurdles to the acquisition. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of Treasury, is also weighing in on the proposed deal.
Last week, Italian regulators also gave the thumbs-up to the acquisition. DRS’ stockholders will meet on Sept. 25 to vote on the sale of their company.
If ultimately approved, the acquisition will significantly expand Finmeccanica’s presence in the United States (Defense Daily, May 14). About 90 percent of DRS’ $3 billion-plus in revenues are derived from U.S. customers.