Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. signed a definitive agreement to buy Coleman Aerospace from L3 Technologies Inc. for $15 million in cash. Coleman, a systems engineering and integrator that operates as a prime contractor and subcontractor, will be renamed Aerojet Rocketdyne Coleman Aerospace Inc. and operate as a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The sale price is “subject to customary adjustments,” according to Aerojet, but it indicated it intends to close the purchase by the end of Q1.
“The addition of Coleman’s vehicle integration expertise supports our growth strategy for offering an expanded range of products and services to the defense and space markets,” stated Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings CEO and president Eileen Drake.
Aerojet manufactures rocket and missile propulsion systems, and is generally known for developing and supplying the engines that powered the NASA Space Shuttle.
Coleman develops and produces suborbital launch vehicles and payloads, and performs launch services. It develops and integrates air- and ground-launched ballistic missile targets and mission planning for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and hypersonic testing for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
Rocketdyne Coleman Aerospace will continue to operate from its location in Orlando, and will assume the new Space Coast Integration & Test facility lease at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
In its announcement, Aerojet Rocketdyne said the purchase “builds and expands (its) capabilities in mission analysis and systems engineering, and increases its product portfolio to include vehicle integration for small-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile targets and other small launch vehicles.”
Drake added that the purchase “represents a sound investment in both advanced technologies and new capabilities that build upon our decades of experience as the nation’s leading propulsion provider.”
