ROCKWELL MAY SELL OFF 2 DIVISIONS : MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DEAL SAID TO BE IMMINENT.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Wall Street displayed a fickle fick·le adj. Characterized by erratic changeableness or instability, especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious. [Middle English fikel, from Old English ficol, reaction Thursday to a rumor that Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. Corp. would sell its aerospace and defense divisions to McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It merged with Boeing in 1997 to form The Boeing Company. Corp. On the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. , where both companies are traded, Rockwell's stock jumped 1-3/4 to 58-7/8 while McDonnell Douglas fell -1/8 to 48-3/4. The Washington Post reported in Thursday's editions that a deal is pending and that the only snag is a strike by machinists at St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas. But spokesmen at both companies declined comment on the reports. ``As a matter of policy we do not comment on speculation concerning acquisitions, divestures and that sort of thing,'' said Rockwell spokesman Bill Blanning. And The Wall Street Journal reported that McDonnell Douglas studies of a Rockwell asset purchase have been fruitless. None of it means that a deal won't happen. In March, Seal Beach-based Rockwell sent out sale proposals for its divisions that built the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. , B-1 bomber and Apollo moon rocket engines. The price tag was $3.5 billion. The company has not partaken in the aerospace industry consolidation and analysts have said it wants to concentrate on commercial lines that have more growth potential. The company started making more commercial acquisitions as aerospace began its decline in the mid-1980s, purchasing Allen Bradley Co. in 1985 and Reliance Electric Co. in 1995. Both companies specialize in industrial automation. Given that, an aerospace asset sale makes sense, analysts said. And a sale to McDonnell Douglas would probably not have much impact on Rockwell's California operations like the Rocketdyne plant in Canoga Park, analysts said. Peak employment for the unit reached 9,300 jobs in 1989 but fell to its current 5,200 level during the industry downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing . The division has facilities in Canoga Park and in the Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion