L3Harris to divest Electron Devices business

US-based L3Harris Technologies has agreed to sell its Electron Devices business to US private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners for USD185 million as part of its portfolio reshaping effort, L3Harris announced on 3 August.

Electron Devices makes radio-frequency amplification products for the defence, intelligence, industrial, and medical sectors. Its travelling wave tubes are used in communication satellites, ground broadcast stations, guidance systems, and military aircraft radars.

Electron Devices has more than 800 employees at three facilities in Folsom and Torrance, California, and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Arlington plans to turn the business into a standalone company called Stellant Systems, but keep its leadership.

“While we have tremendous respect for the company's storied legacy, and are grateful for L3Harris' contributions to that journey, we are excited to invest behind the current management team to reinvigorate the company's innovative spirit and enter promising new markets,” Arlington vice-president Ben Ramundo said.

L3Harris expects to complete the transaction by year's end after receiving regulatory approvals. The deal brings L3Harris' total gross proceeds from completed and announced divestitures to about USD2.7 billion.

L3Harris has been working to shed about 8–10% of its USD18 billion in annual revenue by selling businesses it does not deem a good fit for the large defence contractor, which was formed through the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation more than two years ago. L3Harris is now close to the high end of its goal.

“We have now divested nearly 10% of our revenues,” L3Harris CEO Chris Kubasik said. “And with the completion of a few others in process, our portfolio-shaping programme announced in 2019 is largely complete.”