Government Clears ATK-Orbital Merger
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission today agreed to the merger of ATK and Orbital Sciences Corporation. The companies expect to complete the transaction in February 2015.
ATK and Orbital announced a “merger of equals” in April 2014. At the time, they expected the deal to close this month, but a variety of factors — including the launch failure of Orbital’s Antares rocket in October — delayed it slightly. Last month ATK signaled that it wanted to proceed, but the shareholder vote has been postponed until January 27, 2015.
In a joint press release, the two companies said they were informed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the FTC and the Justice Department have terminated the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act effective today.
They expect the merger to close immediately after ATK spins off its sporting goods business, which will become a new, separate company, Vista Outdoor Inc. That is expected in February “subject to the satisfaction of remaining closing conditions” including shareholder approval.
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