L3Harris explores possible acquisitions

L3Harris Technologies is having discussions with potential acquisition targets, but does not know yet if it will close any deals this year, according to the US defence contractor's chief executive.

“There's absolutely an appetite” for acquisitions, CEO Chris Kubasik told analysts on 31 January. “If we make an acquisition in 2022, that would be great. If we don't, we don't.”

The company has a “disciplined process” in place to evaluate companies it could buy and consider how it would integrate them, Kubasik said.

If L3Harris makes an acquisition, the purchase price will likely be in the medium-sized range of about USD500 million to USD1.5 billion. Kubasik is “probably not a huge fan of lots of little USD50 million, USD70 million, USD100 million deals” because they cause “a lot of challenges with integration and such”. For multibillion dollar deals, “there aren't many targets”.

L3Harris previously showed little interest in acquisitions because it was focused on integrating its predecessor companies, L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation, which merged in June 2019. However, that integration effort, which included divesting a series of non-core businesses, is now “largely behind us”, Kubasik said.