Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies Announce Merger

Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies have agreed to combine, creating the 6th largest U.S. defense contractor, to be called L3 Harris Technologies, Inc. The companies held a joint conference call on October 15 to announce the details of the merger. The company will have approximately 48,000 employees and be headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. Harris and L3 cited “complementary businesses with a shared culture of innovation and operational excellence to accelerate growth and improve margins,” as a reason for the merger.

In what the companies are calling an “all stock merger of equals,” the transaction has Harris shareholders owning approximately 54 percent of the new company, while L3 shareholders will own approximately 46 percent. The new company has $34 billion in combined equity value and an enterprise value of $41 billion. For calendar year 2018, the combined company is expected to generate net revenue of approximately $16 billion and free cash flow of $1.9 billion.

“This transaction extends our position as a premier global defense technology company that unlocks additional growth opportunities and generates value for our customers, employees and shareholders,” said Harris Chairman, President and CEO  William Brown.

L3 Chairman, President and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik added, “This merger creates greater benefits and growth opportunities than either company could have achieved alone. The companies were on similar growth trajectories and this combination accelerates the journey to becoming a more agile, integrated and innovative non-traditional 6th Prime focused on investing in important, next generation technologies.”