A person familiar with the matter says L3Harris Technologies is close to buying Aerojet.
The person who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly said that a deal for Aerojet could be announced within days. Aerojet's closing price Friday was 5.7% higher than the L3 Harris bid.
The people said that Aerojet could still choose to remain independent.
Representatives for Aerojet and L3Harris did not reply to questions. The two companies were close to an agreement, with L3Harris topping a competing offer by GE.
Aerojet has a market value of over $4 billion. Its first attempt to sell itself in as many years was unsuccessful.
In December 2020, Aerojet agreed to be acquired by Lockheed Martin. The deal was terminated in February after the FTC objected to it.
Aerojet makes a range of rockets, including hypersonic engines and electric power systems, for customers like NASA and Boeing.
L3Harris agreed in October to purchase Viasat Inc.'s tactical data links division. It is thought that the acquisition of L3Harris will help the company compete with larger Pentagon suppliers.
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