Harris Corp does not expect the U.S. government to raise any major antitrust concerns about its acquisition of fellow Pentagon supplier Exelis Inc, the company's chief executive said Friday. Harris CEO William Brown told Reuters in an interview that there were only a few areas where the two companies competed directly, and their businesses were largely complementary.He said discussions about the merger began after Exelis spun off its former missions systems and government services business in September.Brown declined comment on concerns raised by several credit ratings agencies, saying only that the company's management team and board were committed to retaining an "investment grade" rating. He said the company was in ongoing dialogue with the ratings agencies, and the market was not aware of the full details of the company's financing structure.Brown said he had a lot of respect for David Melcher, who heads Exelis, but said he would stay on as the company's sole CEO. He failed to comment on any future role for Melcher.
Exelis Inc. (Exelis) is a diversified, top-tier global aerospace, defense and information solutions company. Shares of XLS traded higher by 35.23% or $6.24/share to $23.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $14.86 and as high as $20.02. On average, 1058250 shares of XLS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 35945208.
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