Ultra Electronics, a British conglomerate, has ended its $234 million bid for Sparton Corp. because of anti-trust concerns raised by the Justice Department, the companies announced Monday.
The acquisition, announced in July, would have created one the world’s largest underwater warfare companies that would count the Defense Department among its clients. During the review of the proposed merger, both the Justice Department and the U.S. Navy expressed concerns the deal could create a monopoly.
Ultra and Sparton, of Schaumburg, Illinois, are the only two companies that supply the U.S. Navy with sonobuoys, a device used for detection and classification for adversary submarines. The sonobuoys sold to the Navy through a joint venture. As a result, the Justice Department said it would recommend blocking the merger.
“The transaction threatened to permanently combine the only two qualified suppliers of sonobuoys to the U.S. Navy,” the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the deal’s termination.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.